Erwin Smith (Junior High Manga)

Erwin Smith (エルヴィン・スミス) is a teacher at the Attack Junior High School and the Attack Jr. High Survey Club's advisor.

Appearance
Erwin goes with cleanly parted blond hair along with sideburns and a definition of thickness in his eyebrows. He can be seen wearing a complete dress suit with a green necktie; in more casual settings, he wears a polo shirt and occasionally wears an emerald bolo tie as well.

Personality
As the teacher and faculty advisor of the Survey Club, Erwin is a generous and kind-hearted man, and almost everyone in the school looks up to him. He appears to be nice to everyone whether they are humans or Titans and is often seen helping the students or trying to solve problems peacefully. However, he admitted to the Survey Club that he actually hates Titans and showed ruthless behavior towards them. Erwin is also quite strong, being able to easily defeat several Titans by himself.

History
Mr. Smith, at some point during his career at Attack Junior High, was forced to start up an afterschool club due to it being school policy; begrudgingly, he founded the Home Economics Club but did not advertise it and as a result, no members joined it. Satisfied that this met the requirements, Mr. Smith was surprised when a student named Levi began pressuring him to join. Eventually, Mr. Smith was impressed with his determination and agreed to allow him to join. Mr. Smith would also become the faculty advisor for the Survey Club.

Early into his tenure as the advisor of the Survey Club, Erwin took a group of first year students on a trip along with fellow faculty member Nile Dok. After consoling a distressed Hange whose lunch was missing, Erwin follows Nile and discovers a large pile of lunches next to a group of Titan students. After hearing Nile will not discipline the Titans, Erwin goes and ruthlessly beats them for stealing from other students.

Story
Before the start of the current school year, Erwin encountered several future first year students, including Jean, Sasha and Connie; he was able to help each one, earning their respect. He would later encounter two Titans stealing snacks from a few students on campus; in an effort to defuse the situation, he does not reprimand them and even offers some of his own. This infuriates Eren, a new member of the Survey Club, and later appears to formally introduce himself as the faculty advisor for the Survey Club. He reveals he will be going with the Club on an overnight trip inside the Titan forest. After arriving at their lodge, Erwin notices that Eren has continued to badmouth him as a lousy teacher and should not be in charge of the Club; despite this, Erwin merely smiles and resolves to get Eren to like him just like the others do. That evening, Mr. Smith notices Eren leave the lodge and realizes he is going to search down a Titan; he makes his presence known and continues to follow Eren despite the former's objections. Erwin spots a small group of Titans nearby with one about Titan about to stuff Eren into its mouth; after the Titans refuse to follow his orders to release Eren, Erwin smiles and proceeds to beat all the Titans. The commotion brings the other Survey Club members over and Erwin reveals that despite his benevolence, he holds all Titans in contempt due to them mistreating the human students.

Over the course of the year, both Nile and the principal begin to add more and more restrictions on the human students. Erwin believes that this is due to Nile reporting his actions against the Titan students from before; as he discusses with the Class 4 teacher, Erwin decides to admit his role and resign in order to have the restrictions lifted. The other teachers spread this throughout the school, including Mr. Hannes of the Wall Beautification Club. Many of the students believe that the Titans merely exaggerated the attack but Erwin confirms it was true; just then, Nile approaches Erwin and begins to gloat about him finally being punished. Eren and the others arrive as well and as Erwin takes out his resignation form, Eren grabs it and tears it apart.

Relationships

 * Nile Dok - One of Erwin's fellow faculty members at the junior high. Erwin and Nile initially had a stable relationship but this soon changes when Erwin notices that Nile refuses to discipline the Titan students. They are often at odds with each other.
 * Hange Zoë - Erwin first met Hange during a field trip. He took pity on her after Titans stole her lunch and took time to help her find a substitute.
 * Eren Yeager - Even though Eren has been at odds with Erwin and continues to badmouth him at every opportunity, Erwin admires his determination and drive. Despite the lack of respect shown him, Erwin sees much of himself in Eren and enlists him to look after the Survey Club when he tries to resign.