Mikasa Ackermann (Anime)

"There's only so many lives that I actually care about. My enemies made deciding that easy six years ago. So... you're mistaken to seek any compassion from me. Because right now, I'm all out of time and room in my heart to care."

- Mikasa on saving Eren

Mikasa Ackermann (ミカサ・アッカーマン) is one of the two deuteragonists of the series. She is the last descendant of the Shogun clan that stayed on Paradis Island, thereby related to the Azumabito family, and holds significant political power in Hizuru.

After her mother and father were murdered by bandits, Mikasa was rescued by Eren. She lived with him and his parents for approximately one year before the Fall of Wall Maria.

Though she desires only to live a peaceful life with Eren, Mikasa chose to follow him into the military—where she is considered the best soldier among the 104th Cadet Corps. She later joined the Scout Regiment to continue following and protecting Eren.

Appearance
Mikasa is a fairly tall, physically fit, and well-toned woman with muscles lined throughout her arms, legs, and abdomen. By the year 854, her hair is shorter and cut up to the back of her neck, though she simultaneously wears noticeably longer bangs. She is of partial Asian heritage, with pale skin, gray eyes, and shaggy black hair that was long until she cut it to chin-length, despite Jean telling her it was beautiful..

Her eye color is not consistent and often varies, depending on the light and surroundings, between shades of gray and occasionally blue. Her body has been depicted as extremely well-toned, with little, if any, in the way of body fat and muscles lined throughout her arms, legs, and abs. Mikasa also has a small scar below her right eye, which she received after Eren unknowingly attempted to kill her in his Titan form.

As a soldier, Mikasa often wears a uniform consisting of a short, light-brown jacket with the badge of the Scout Regiment on both shoulders, on the front left pocket, and on the center of the back, a white shirt, a brown sash around the waist covering the hips, white pants, and brown knee-high leather boots. She also wears a green cape with the symbol of the Scout Regiment after entering the faction. A unique part of her attire is a dark red scarf, which was given to her by Eren after saving her from human traffickers. Because of that, it is very precious to her, and she almost always has it with her.

While in Marley, Mikasa wears a black Scout Regiment uniform, which features a breastplate with the regiment's symbol; many belts to accommodate all the different gear; support rods around her chest for the gas canister; and tall black boots. She also carries guns, thunder spears, an additional gas tank, and canisters running vertically down her legs.

Personality
Prior to her parents' death, Mikasa was a cheerful yet unusually perceptive child. From an early age, she was aware of the harshness of nature, witnessing the manner in which predators would hunt and kill weaker prey. However, her innocence allowed her to push this reality to the back of her mind and she continued to live happily with her parents. This illusory peace was shattered when a band of criminals brutally murdered her parents before her eyes in a failed kidnapping attempt of both Mikasa and her mother. She later managed to overcome the attackers with her rescuer, Eren Jaeger. Even as a child, Mikasa managed to abandon all hesitation and kill one of her assailants. Following this traumatic event, she gained a generally cynical outlook on life and accepted the world as a cruel place where only those who are strong are able to survive.

After the murder of her parents, Mikasa has become noticeably emotionally withdrawn and serious, but she still loves and cares deeply for her friends, especially Eren and Armin Arlelt, seeing them as the last remnants of a family she cannot afford to lose. Her personality as a teenager is very much influenced and molded by Eren, who told her she stood no chance of survival if she did not fight for it. His words continue to stay with her, and her mind automatically recalls them to spur her on when she is close to death. Her determination to protect Eren as much as possible may also have contributed greatly to her phenomenal skills as a soldier. Though she is among the best of the best, she remains humble and refrains from putting on airs or displaying arrogance.

Mikasa has a strong sense of right and wrong, but she is also very protective of Eren and does all she can to advise him to follow what she deems to be the right track. Despite that, she knows well that she cannot always sway Eren in his decisions, and she makes a point to follow Eren to almost everywhere he goes and stick by whatever final decisions he makes, just so that she can be around to help him out when he is in trouble. The sole reason she enlisted in the military and joined the Scout Regiment after her graduation was to keep an eye on Eren, despite the fact that she truly wished to live out the rest of her days in relative peace within the Walls alongside him. She also takes Eren's opinion seriously, so much so that when he once said that her hair was too long, she immediately had it cut, even though Jean had just commented that it looked beautiful.

Despite all her blind loyalty, Mikasa is quite stoic and level-headed. Her will is remarkably strong, and she is rarely seen to lose her cool or be at a loss of what to do, no matter how bleak a situation seems to be. Even when she believed Eren to be dead, outwardly she managed to remain so calm that only Armin could tell that she was battling with the pain of losing Eren. However, she is not completely immune to the effects of her emotions. Her strong feelings for Eren, particularly when he is in harm's way, does at times cloud her judgment - sometimes to the endangerment of herself and others. A notable example is when she briefly gave in to her grief over Eren's apparent demise and lost the will to live - forgetting her responsibility for the lives of the soldiers she had taken upon herself to lead in the process. However, she was reawakened by her memories of Eren, after which she made a conscious decision to never give up again, as if she were to die, her memories of Eren would die with her. When she found him alive and well, she completely lost her composure and wept tears of joy.

Mikasa's bond with Eren is undoubtedly her most important relationship and one that defines Mikasa. For Eren's sake, Mikasa has expressed a variety of emotions such as compassion, concern, anger, embarrassment, sadness, and tenderness. She has openly wept tears of relief at his safety, and developed vengeful grudges towards those who harm him. She relentlessly attacked the Female Titan in a murderous fury as it attempted to abduct Eren. Mikasa blushed when it was insinuated she and Eren were lovers and has suffered crippling distress at the thought of losing Eren forever. Mikasa also wears the red scarf Eren gave her when they first met, holding on to it as a source of strength and comfort when she is upset.

History
Mikasa was born to a father who is an Ackermann and an Asian mother. Before her parents' death, she lived peacefully with them in the farmlands of Wall Maria. Mikasa underwent a painful scarring ritual from her mother, who cut into her skin the mark of their family and was taught a unique style of embroidery. Being the last of their race made them high value targets to human traffickers, who killed Mikasa's parents and attempted to kidnap her for the purpose of selling her as a slave to the people in the Capital when she was only nine years old.

She was rescued by Eren, who tricked and killed two of the slavers. He was then overwhelmed by the third trafficker and was on the verge of being strangled. Desperately, Eren urged Mikasa to fight to win. Although she was initially frightened, she came to realize that, "This world is a callous and merciless place," dispatching the bandit who was trying to kill Eren. When Eren's father arrived with members of the Military Police Regiment, she was given the scarf by Eren and accepted into his family. This event awakened the fighting instincts and perfect self-control that would later turn her into a formidable soldier. She lived with Eren's family in Wall Maria's Shiganshina District until it was destroyed by the Colossal Titan.

The Fall of Shiganshina arc
Mikasa appears for the first time in year 845 somewhere inside Wall Maria. She is seen waking Eren up, telling him that they need to return to home. She is surprised to see tears in his eyes and asks why he was crying. On their way home, they meet Hannes. Mikasa watches as Eren complains about the soldiers slacking off while on duty. Later, both Eren and Mikasa watch the return of the Scout Regiment forces, witnessing yet another failure of their expedition. After returning home, Mikasa tells on Eren, revealing to his parents his desire to join the Scout Regiment. Annoyed, Eren leaves, with Mikasa following him. They save Armin Arlelt, who is being beaten by local bullies and together discuss their desire to go outside the Walls.

At that moment, the three kids witness the sudden appearance of a Colossal Titan that breaches the Wall's gate. Mikasa and Eren run back to their home to find it crushed and Carla trapped under the debris. In spite of their attempts, Mikasa and Eren are unable to free her, Hannes rescuing them as a Titan devours Eren's mother. Mikasa and Eren are placed on a ship just as the Armored Titan breaks through the inner gate, letting the Titans inside Wall Maria. Eren's vows to kill all the Titans as they are transported to safety. Once inside the safety of Wall Rose, Eren confronts a soldier from the Garrison Regiment who manifests his annoyance for having to share their food with outsiders. The short beating the soldiers give Eren causes him to claim that he will retake Wall Maria with his own hands. He insults Armin for his doubt and Mikasa punches him to bring him back to his senses. She then declares that she will do everything to keep him alive, forcing him to eat the rations he had previously discarded out of anger.

Humanity's Comeback arc
After the events of the Wall Maria's destruction, the government's desperate attempt to reclaim the lands using the refugees leads to nothing but more casualties. This prompts Mikasa, Eren and Armin enroll in the military and become members of the 104th Cadet Corps.

During their training, Mikasa helps Eren as much as she can as he initially fails to grasp the basics of the omni-directional mobility gear. They manage to pass the qualifying tests, Mikasa quickly proving her skills and is praised as one of the best cadets in military history. At one point, Mikasa asks Annie Leonhart, a fellow cadet with exceptional skill, to teach her a self-defense technique that she was teaching Eren, which eventually calls for a bet with the 104th Cadet Corps to see who is the stronger fighter. At the 104th Cadet Corps' graduation, she is ranked first in the class.

Distress
In the year 848, Mikasa takes part in a group navigation training exercise under Thomas Wagner's command. Partway through the exercise, the group's ODM gear is stolen by a band of thieves. The group decides to speed up their exercise to warn Marco Bodt's group. The next day, Mikasa's group rendezvous with Marco's group, and help them in disarming the remaining bandits they had been engaging.

A Sudden Visitor: The Torturous Curse of Adolescence
In the year 849, Eren and Mikasa confusedly watch a brewing fight between Sasha and Jean. Afterward, she and Eren work to unload crates from a wagon. Carrying a number of them with ease, Mikasa notices that Eren is struggling and offers to help him with his, but he angrily refuses. During the cooking competition, Mikasa is shown doing her routine body work-out.

The Struggle for Trost arc
Before having the chance to fully apply in the Scout Regiment so she can keep Eren safe, the Colossal Titan breaches Wall Rose the same way it did with Wall Maria. Much to her dismay, Mikasa is assigned to the rear guard to help fend off the Titans while the civilians escape into the safety of Wall Sina. Before fulfilling her duty, she makes Eren promise her not to do anything reckless.

Later on, as an abnormal Titan approaches the escaping civilians who are blocked at the gate. Mikasa kills it, saving everyone. She then witnesses why the civilians are taking too long to escape; an overloaded cargo cart is blocking the way. Mikasa asks the businessman to move the cart so that the people could escape, but when he refuses, she resorts to threatening him after knocking his guards unconscious, which scares the man enough to relent and move his goods. Seeing a mother and daughter show their gratitude for saving them, Mikasa flashes back to the time she lost her own parents and realizes that Eren is the only family she has left. Thus, with the evacuation of Trost District citizens complete, she heads to the front guard in order to aid her comrades. However, the sole cadet survivors are low on gas, making them unable to scale the Wall while the supply team inside the headquarters has barricaded themselves in against the onslaught of multiple Titans. After hearing of Eren's supposed death from Armin, Mikasa regroups the survivors and insults them, saying she will break through the Titans assaulting the headquarters.

Because of her grief over Eren's death, she fights irrationally and does not notice that she is running out of gas. As two Titans close in on her, she contemplates giving up and begins to remember her time with Eren, recalling Eren's cries of fighting back against her kidnappers, which gives her motivation to fight once more. When Mikasa stands up to kill the Titan in front of her, another Titan comes running from behind and saves her. This Titan, which ignores Mikasa, gives Armin enough time to rescue Mikasa and they both continue heading to the supply HQ. As they watch this rogue Titan continue killing other Titans, they hatch a plan to lure it to the HQ and relieve the siege there. With its help, the cadets manage to successfully refill their gas tanks and have clear access to the Wall.

However, as they watch, the rogue Titan disposes of the last Titans surrounding them, Eren appears out the nape of its neck. Overcome with relief that Eren is alive, Mikasa quickly rescues and embraces him, everyone leaves for the Wall. However, Jean, along with Annie, Reiner, and Bertholdt are ordered to hand Eren over to superior officers under the command of Kitz Woermann and to treat the incident as something confidential. Their refusal to do so causes Mikasa and her friends to be accused of treason and find themselves surrounded by Captain Woermann's men, who are prompt to execute them. Mikasa attempts to defend Eren by drawing her blades and threatening to kill anyone who would try to harm Eren, but witnessing Eren's Titan form fighting in Trost District, Woermann does not hesitate and orders a cannon to fire at them in spite of the latter's claim that he is a human. Eren uses his power to block the cannonball and tries to think of a plan of escape. He proposes that they either try to flee over the Walls and escape into the Titan territory or have Armin attempt to persuade the soldiers to spare them, leaving him to choose. Armin tries his best to convince the soldiers that Eren's Titan abilities could help to save humanity but realizes the commander is far too scared to think rationally. Before the order can be given to fire upon them once more, they are saved when Commander Dot Pyxis, head administrator of the southern region, intervenes. They are sent on a mission to plug the breach in the Wall with a rock that only Eren in Titan form can lift.

As the mission commences and Eren goes into Titan form, he loses control, attacking Mikasa, and eventually knocking himself out. The elite team, led by Ian Dietrich, Rico Brzenska, and Mitabi Jarnach, designated to defend Eren as he carries the rock quarrel among themselves about what to do next. Mikasa is on the verge of attacking them until Ian orders everyone to continue protecting Eren until he recovers. Thanks to Armin's intervention, Eren eventually regains his senses and successfully places the rock down, albeit with many casualties. At that moment, they are saved by Levi as he kills the Titans approaching them.

Eve of the Counterattack arc
After the battle of Trost District is over, Eren is brought before a military tribunal to decide his future. Despite Mikasa's best efforts to defend him, she is forced to testify against Eren as his reckless actions have frightened many people in the courtroom. She is also forced to watch helplessly as Eren is assaulted and humiliated by Levi.

Some time later, Mikasa and everyone else have their omni-directional mobility gear inspected in order to find out the culprit who killed the two captured Titans. Later on, Commander Erwin Smith comes to recruit new members for the Scout Regiment which is scheduling an expedition within a few months. Many leave except for Mikasa, Reiner, Armin, Sasha, Christa, Conny, Jean, Bertholdt, and a few others.

Mikasa is then seen to be a part of the 57th expedition.

The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission arc
Shortly after leaving for Wall Maria, the Female Titan appears and defeats numerous Scout Regiment members. The formation eventually reaches the Forest of Giant Trees, with Mikasa being stationed at its outskirts, making sure that no Titans enter the forest. Eventually, she attempts to approach Eren as she hears his roar in his Titan Form. Upon reaching Eren's location, she witnesses the Female Titan devouring Eren's human body. After overcoming the initial shock, Mikasa charges at the Female Titan, cutting it up in order to rescue Eren. However, she is unable to do so until she teams up with Levi. They manage to take Eren back and join the rest of the formation. While heading to the Walls, the formation is attacked by multiple Titans brought by a couple of rookie soldiers who disobeyed a direct order from Commander Erwin, and Mikasa must save the rookies who are caught by the Titans.

Assault on Stohess arc
Following the Scout Regiment's failure, Armin manages to convince Annie to help him and Mikasa sneak Eren out of Stohess District until they can gather evidence to prove to the King that the Walls need to be protected better. However, when Annie makes excuses not to go underground with them, Mikasa gets fed up and draws her blade.

Even after Annie transforms into the Female Titan, Eren has trouble convincing himself to fight her, so Mikasa runs out to try holding her off. Eventually, Eren manages to turn into a Titan and attacks Annie. When he begins to overwhelm her, she attempts to climb over Wall Sina to escape. Mikasa uses her omni-directional mobility gear to hurl herself high enough up the Wall to catch up with the Female Titan and cuts off all her fingers. She then proceeds to push Annie off so she falls to the ground.

Later that day, Mikasa watches over Eren in a room until he wakes up from his battle with Annie. She expresses joy at his survival and remains at his bedside as Armin and Jean head down to a meeting.

Clash of the Titans arc
Following the supposed breach of Wall Rose, Mikasa, Eren, and other members of the Scout Regiment come to rescue Reiner, Bertholdt, Conny, Historia, and Ymir from Titans at Utgard Castle. She is among the others who learn that Christa's real name is Historia. After the Scouts regroup on top of Wall Rose, Mikasa is outraged when she overhears Reiner confessing that he and Bertholdt were the Titans responsible for the attack on Wall Maria and want Eren to join them. She takes them by surprise, striking them with her swords, and tells Eren to run. However, her heart is not completely in her attack and she fails to kill them. Their injuries allow them to transform into the Armored and Colossal Titans.

Eren transforms into his own Titan to fight Reiner's Armored Titan and Mikasa, regretting her earlier hesitation, attempts to help him, but her blades have no effect against his armor. Hange theorizes that he must have gaps in his protection though since he moves too fast to be uniformly armored. While Eren grapples with Reiner, Mikasa takes advantage of Hange's suggestion and cuts through the exposed backs of Reiner's knees, further weakening his ability to fight. However, Reiner unexpectedly roars, signaling Bertholdt's Colossal Titan to fall down on top of him and Eren.

The resulting blast is strong enough to throw back any Scouts nearby. Mikasa regains consciousness five hours later to discover that Eren has been kidnapped and the Scouts are in no shape to mount a rescue. She had been able to help Levi save Eren from the Female Titan before because they could pursue her right away, but that is not possible this time.

Hannes offers her and Armin rations to chew on while reminding them that Eren has always been running away and getting into trouble like this and that Mikasa and Armin have always come to bail him out. He reminds them that Eren always fights, even if he is going to lose, so he should be able to hold out until the two of them can rescue him again. Reassured, Mikasa eats her rations to regain her strength.

She joins the joint military operation to rescue Eren and heads to the forest of giant trees where they hope to find Reiner, Bertholdt, and their captives. Once they arrive she joins Hannes and a number of her fellow Scouts in searching the inside of the forest where they encounter Ymir in her Titan form. Ymir kidnaps Historia and flees while Mikasa and the others chase after her. At the forest's edge, Reiner transforms into the Armored Titan. Ymir jumps on his back and Bertholdt, carrying an unconscious Eren, rides on his shoulder.

The soldiers follow the group on horseback and try to free Eren from Bertholdt, but Ymir interferes with their attempts. Realizing that Ymir stands in the way of saving Eren, Mikasa prepares to attack her, but Historia jumps in the way, saying that Ymir does not have a choice but to help Reiner and Bertholdt. Mikasa is unmoved, having decided six years ago who was important to her, and she is out of time and room in her heart to care for more.

Fearing that Ymir will be killed, Historia convinces her to back down, leaving the rest of the 104th free to try talking Bertholdt into letting Eren go, though Mikasa is considerably less forgiving than the others. Though Bertholdt expresses regret over their betrayal, he refuses to hand over Eren and the Scouts are forced to jump off the Armored Titan when Erwin leads a horde of Titans into Reiner. After the Armored Titan is immobilized by the sheer number of them, Erwin calls for the soldiers to charge in and recover Eren.

Mikasa rides her horse at a gallop, weaving around the intimidating number of Titans between her and Eren, and launches herself at Bertholdt, but she misses and sees Eren watching her in panic. Her trajectory carries her straight into another Titan that grabs her hard enough to crush her ribs. Jean, who had been riding just behind her, attacks the Titan, burying his blade in its eye and allowing Mikasa to get free.

With Armin's help, Erwin is able to cut Eren free from Bertholdt and Mikasa catches him in the air. The two of them flee on horseback but are knocked to the ground when Reiner begins throwing Titans at the retreating soldiers. As they look up, they see the smiling Titan approaching them is the one that ate Eren's mother. Mikasa is unable to defend Eren due to her injury, but Hannes buys them time in an attempt to avenge Carla Jaeger. Eren shouts for Mikasa to free his arms so he can help fight, but when he tries biting himself to transform nothing happens.

As Hannes is killed and the battle turns against the soldiers around them, Eren falls into despair, feeling that he has never had the power to do anything. Mikasa asks him to listen to her. He showed her how to live with purpose and he wrapped his scarf around her, and for that she is grateful. She smiles, with tears in her eyes, and Eren vows to wrap that scarf around her as many times as she wants.

He punches the smiling Titan, triggering something that causes all the other mindless Titans to attack it. In the resulting confusion, he carries Mikasa away on his back and also sends the Titans after Reiner and Bertholdt. They escape with the rest of the surviving soldiers and return to Trost District.

The Uprising arc
Some time later, Mikasa is selected to be a member of the new Squad Levi assigned to safeguard Eren and Historia in an isolated forest cabin. Much to her friends' surprise, she rapidly recovers from her broken ribs, able to chop and lift firewood as well as performing sit-ups. Sasha is afterward caught trying to steal a loaf of bread, and her friends confront her.

Later that day, Levi Squad assist Hange in running a series of tests on Eren's Titan powers. The tests go poorly and Eren reaching the point of exhaustion, only partially forming while being unresponsive. Mikasa jumps off her horse and runs up to him before Hange tries pulling Eren's body out of his Titan. Mikasa notices Eren's disfigured face and hurriedly cuts him free despite Hange's eagerness to make a sketch.

The next night, Nifa brings a message from Commander Erwin, prompting Levi to tell everybody to clear the cabin immediately. Outside, he reveals the royal government has put a freeze on Scout Regiment activity outside the Wall and are demanding they hand over Eren and Historia. Levi Squad and three of Hange's subordinates make for Trost. There, a carriage comes crashing through and seemingly kidnaps Eren and Historia, though the kidnapped victims are actually Jean and Armin in disguise.

On the roof above the kidnappers' hideout, Mikasa talks to Levi and tells him that Armin's disguise is on the verge of being uncovered. Levi notes that the kidnappers are seemingly amateurs and leaves the situation in her hands.

As the lead kidnapper and his henchmen enter the warehouse where Jean and Armin are being held, they notice the guard is missing. Mikasa and the other squad members, including Jean and Armin, who she had already freed, attack the remaining kidnappers. Mikasa personally restrains their leader and informs the rest of the squad that after tying them up they are to meet with Levi.

Shortly after, Mikasa and the others hear the sound of gunshots and go to investigate. They spot the wagon carrying an unconscious Eren and Historia with Levi in pursuit. To their shock, there is another soldier tailing Levi, who aims a gun at his captain. Levi kills the soldier and orders his squad to chase the wagon and kill their opponents, given the chance. Mikasa knocks over the soldier driving the wagon, allowing Armin to take control of it. However, the Military Police still manages to escape with Eren and Historia. Mikasa tries to follow them, but Levi stops her.

Returning to the warehouse, Mikasa comforts Armin as he has a mental breakdown of killing another human. Once he has calmed down, they enter the warehouse, where Levi consoles Armin as well, albeit in such a way that Mikasa becomes angry with him.

When Dimo Reeves tricks two Military Police of the First Interior Squad to come with him to a remote cabin, Mikasa and other members of Levi Squad take them hostage at gunpoint. Mikasa and the rest of the squad listen uncomfortably to the screams as Levi and Hange conduct their interrogation. When the two are through, Mikasa and the others are informed that Eren and Historia are likely being held near Rod Reiss. Hange also informs them of her theory that Eren will soon be eaten. Mikasa tries to leave immediately to find Eren, and Levi is forced to talk her down.

After the Scout Regiment is accused of trying to monopolize Eren's Titan powers, the government begins arresting all members of the organization. Mikasa and the rest of Squad Levi avoid being captured, and camp out in the woods outside of Stohess. Sasha informs them of approaching MPs, and Mikasa and Levi ambush them while Armin distracts them as bait. Mikasa and Armin take their uniforms and put them on with the intention of infiltrating the Military Police to find out where Eren and Historia have been taken, but the two soldiers, Marlo and Hitch do not take their capture quietly, and eventually gain the squad's trust, leading them to a nearby MP checkpoint.

After crippling most of the personnel, Levi and his squad escape with a hostage. They interrogate him about Eren and Historia's location until the name "Kenny Ackermann" comes out, surprising Mikasa and Levi with the man's apparent relation to her. Before they can question their hostage further, they hear people approaching on foot. To the entire squad's delight, it is Hange, who informs them that the Scout Regiment has been exonerated and that they have a lead on Eren and Historia's whereabouts.

On the way, Levi warns his squad that Kenny Ackermann will be their biggest obstacle because fighting him will be like fighting Levi himself. He asks Mikasa if she thinks Kenny might be related to her since they share the same last name. She thinks about it and tells him that she knows that her father's family was persecuted, but not the reason why. Levi then asks her whether she experienced a moment when she felt a sudden power awaken inside her and she remembers the moment she took up the knife to kill her kidnapper. She reveals that she did, and upon confirming this, Levi tells her that he and Kenny also experienced such moments in their lives.

They arrive at the chapel and find the secret door leading underground. The team makes preparations for facing the Anti-Personnel Control Squad, which is waiting for them below. When they are ready, they send barrels of gunpowder and bags of oil down the stairs. Sasha sets fire to them with a flaming arrow and fills the underground chamber with smoke, reducing visibility and the usefulness of firearms. Most of the squad provides additional cover with signal flares while Mikasa and Levi scout out their enemies using ODM gear. Levi calls for his squad to take out the Interior MPs and the team springs into action, with Mikasa swiftly killing three enemy soldiers. After a concerted push, they manage to force the Anti-Personnel Control Squad into a retreat.

Mikasa and the rest of Levi's squad are suddenly stopped by a bright flash deeper in the cavern. She realizes that it means a Titan has transformed and worries over Eren. The squad arrives in time for Mikasa to catch Historia, who had been flung back against the Wall from the force of Rod Reiss' transformation into a Titan. Mikasa asks if she is okay before taking the keys to Eren's chains from her and throwing them to Levi so he can free him. The ceiling begins caving in, trapping the squad. Eren apologizes for being useless, but Levi and Historia goad him into taking matters into his own hands. He gets up and grabs a bottle labeled "Armor" that had fallen out of Rod's bag and breaks it between his teeth as he transforms into a Titan.

Eren's Titan form then crystallizes, stabilizing the cavern around the squad, preventing them from being crushed. Even after Mikasa helps cut him out of it, his hardened form does not disappear, which Levi states is a huge development, as they can now seal the hole in Wall Maria.

Mikasa joins the rest of her squad in meeting up with Erwin and pulling back to Orvud District where they make preparations to fight the gargantuan Titan that used to be Rod Reiss. As they are preparing to here Erwin's plan, Mikasa suggests to Historia that she punch Levi once she becomes queen.

At dawn, the Titan arrives and Eren, Mikasa, and Armin assemble a stack of barrels filled with gunpowder at Hange's direction. Mikasa finds Eren moping and prods him back to work. However, to her surprise, he punches his own face to bring himself back to his senses.

When Rod reaches the Wall, Levi instructs the Garrison soldiers to flee while the Scout Regiment soldiers douse themselves in water to withstand the heat. Eren changes into his Titan and uses the stacked barrels as an explosive by shoving them down Rod's open mouth. Mikasa joins the rest of the scouts in cutting down the pieces of Titan flesh that rain down to ensure that the main body of Rod Reiss is slain.

After Historia is crowned as the new queen, Mikasa and Squad Levi accompany her as she goes to find Levi so she can punch him. Eren tries to tell Mikasa to take back her suggestion to punch Levi, but Mikasa only doubles down, telling Historia to dare Levi to hit her back now that she is his queen. Historia follows through on the advice, but Levi surprises the whole squad by smiling and thanking them.

Two months later, the members of Squad Levi help out at an orphanage that Historia has started. While they are working, Historia has a small conversation with Eren, but they are interrupted by a stone-faced Mikasa, who takes the items Eren was carrying, saying he is tired from all his training. Eren complains that she should not treat him like an old man.

While the soldiers eat and celebrate the success of the Titan guillotine fashioned by Hange, Mikasa remains silent throughout most of the conversation until Eren begins to remember the day he ate his father. Recognizing where his mind is going, Mikasa stops him, saying that he should finish eating before talking. He does not stop trying to remember though, and suddenly he realizes that the man that his father met the day Wall Maria fell was their old commandant, Keith Sadies. They then decide to pay him a visit.

The following day, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and others travel to the training camp to talk with Keith. They talk inside a small house and Keith tells them everything he knows: how he met Grisha 20 years ago outside the Walls, his relationship with him and Eren's mother during those years, and how he was present in the night Grisha injected Eren with the Titan serum but did not see anything, and at the end, does not know anything about Grisha's secrets.

Sometime later, the soldiers have a great dinner to celebrate finishing the preparations for retaking Wall Maria. Mikasa is present, eating and watching Sasha's rampage and Jean and Eren's fight. Even when Jean blames Eren for the dangers that he puts Mikasa in, she calmly decides not to intervene.

When the fight ends, Mikasa sits outside with Eren and Armin. After seeing a soldier that reminds the three of Hannes, she wonders if retaking Wall Maria will make things return to how they were. They agree that they can bring back those days, but some things are now forever lost. However, Armin not only thinks this: he considers that being part of the Scout Regiment will allow them to see the ocean and the whole world.

At sunset the following day, the Scout Regiment is ready to go to Shiganshina District. After hearing the cheers of the citizens, Erwin starts the operation and Mikasa rides along Squad Levi towards Shiganshina.

Lost in the cruel world
Mikasa stands atop the Wall with Eren and Armin, as a guillotine-like device crushes the head of a Titan below. She thinks back at a time and place with the two, where they reminisced about the old days before the fall of Wall Maria. She recalls another time during the Struggle for Trost, when Armin first informed her of Eren's apparent death. Mikasa experienced a vision of an alternate reality shortly after. Back in the present, Mikasa believes that Eren will be able to reclaim Wall Maria, kill every Titan, and see the ocean one day. She acknowledges to herself that no one can stop his fate, but resolves to be by his side no matter where he goes.

Return to Shiganshina arc
The scouts are now walking within a mountaintop forest, nearing dawn. Mikasa leads Eren's horse, despite his complaints, as the others encourage him to rest as much as possible for his upcoming duties. Jean spots a nearby Titan and Hange quickly orders the group to illuminate the area with their fragments of the Reiss Chapel cave. She claims that it is dozing away and the group moves on. A few moments after this, Mikasa begins to recognize the area they are in and claims that she collected firewood there once before. Eren and Armin also begin to recognize the area and Mikasa notes that she can hear the river stream.

The group then finds themselves near the Shiganshina District and race in on horses. Erwin orders that all soldier switch to ODM gear and rush the main gate, covered by their hoods to distract any watching enemies. Mikasa is among the soldiers surrounding the gate as Eren flies up above to transform.

After Eren successfully seals the hole in Wall Maria, Mikasa retrieves him from his Titan form, and returns him to the top of the Wall. Giving Eren her cloak, Mikasa accompanies the rest of her squad as they return to meet up with Erwin and the rest of the Scout Regiment. However, before they can return, they see a signal flare fired by Erwin and stop to await further orders. From her position, Mikasa and her comrades are able to observe as Reiner reveals himself to be hiding inside the Wall, and the Beast Titan and his army materialize to engage the Scout Regiment.

As Eren and Reiner fight in their Titan forms, Mikasa and her squad take up positions around them and wait for a chance to attack. Once Eren has maneuvered Reiner into a section of town with tall buildings, Mikasa and Hange use their new Thunder Spears to blind him. After her teammates destroy the armor covering Reiner's nape, the entire squad moves in and destroys Reiner's nape with their Thunder Spears. Afterward, Mikasa attempts to console a horrified Armin, but is interrupted by Reiner's Titan form, which begins roaring.

After Armin reveals to Hange that Bertholdt is approaching, Mikasa and the rest of the Scouts retreat from Reiner's immediate vicinity, in order to escape being caught in the blast of Bertholdt's transformation into the Colossal Titan. When Bertholdt chooses not to transform in order to check on Reiner, Armin attempts to negotiate with him. However, while Armin is attempting to talk with Bertholdt, Mikasa takes the opportunity to attack him from behind. She is unsuccessful in killing him, and comments as he flees on his drastic change in personality.

While Mikasa and Armin are returning to their comrades' position, Bertholdt transforms, and they are forced to hide behind a building to shield themselves from the blast. They then regroup with the rest of Squad Levi and inform them that Hange's squad has apparently been destroyed by the blast.

As Bertholdt begins destroying Shiganshina, Mikasa observes that he does not seem to know their location. Pointing out that they will not have time to look for any survivors from Hange's squad, Mikasa suggests that Armin take the lead of their squad, though Armin then gives Jean command.

After retreating from Bertholdt, Eren tries to get Bertholdt's attention, but he ignores them. Deciding that they will have to engage Bertholdt directly, Mikasa takes Conny's Thunder Spear and prepares to engage Bertholdt. While Eren attacks Bertholdt directly, Mikasa and the rest of the squad spread out to try to find an opening to attack Bertholdt. However, before they can act, Bertholdt kicks Eren into the side of Wall Maria, to Mikasa's horror.

Jean assures her that Eren is not dead, and that their main concern at the moment is taking down Bertholdt. Jean formulates a plan for he, Conny and Sasha to draw Bertholdt's attention while Mikasa strikes his nape with the Thunder Spears. Just as Mikasa moves in to strike Bertholdt, he uses his steam to prevent her from reaching him. When Mikasa lands on a roof where the others already are, she is visibly injured. She explains that a piece of the Thunder Spears hit her, but the wound is not deep. She asks Armin if he believes there is any possible way for them to fight back, but he sees none. They are startled by the sound of a house exploding behind them. From it emerges Reiner, his head fully regenerated. While Armin and Eren choose to confront the Colossal Titan, Mikasa agrees to join the others in an attack against the Armored Titan.

As Reiner begins to run to Eren, Mikasa sends one of her Thunder Spears into his knees, crippling him. She notices the Colossal Titan in the distance beginning to emit much steam, causing her to worry about Eren and Armin for a moment before she returns her focus to the attack on Reiner. While the others proceed with a plan they devised to defeat Reiner, Sasha is injured and misses her Thunder Spear attack on the hinge of the Armored Titan's jaw.

Mikasa realizes that since she has the only Thunder Spear left and Reiner's jaw has not been completely unhinged, she cannot proceed with the plan to blow Reiner's body out of his nape by sending a Thunder Spear into his mouth. As she considers the situation, Hange returns to the battle, sending their own Thunder Spear at Reiner and destroying his other jaw hinge. With the plan now on the verge of success, Mikasa jumps into Reiner's mouth, ordering him to get out as she sends her final Thunder Spear into his mouth, defeating the Armored Titan.

While Hange interrogates an injured Reiner, Mikasa begins treating Jean's injuries. Although Hange wants to simply execute Reiner, Jean convinces them to keep him alive long enough to steal his powers with the Titan injection. Hange orders Mikasa to go retrieve the serum from Levi, and to send up a signal flare if there is a change of plans, so that Hange will know to kill Reiner. When Mikasa arrives at Levi's position, she is horrified to find a hysterical Eren trying to keep a badly-injured Armin alive. As Levi agrees to use the Titan serum to save Armin's life, Mikasa shoots a flare to notify Hange that Reiner must be killed. However, Levi's mind is swayed by the arrival of another soldier, who reveals that Erwin is also mortally wounded. Horrified by Levi's announcement that he will save Erwin and not Armin, Mikasa draws her blade and begins to advance upon him.

As Levi punches Eren in the face, Mikasa pins him to the rooftop and draws her blade to his neck. Noticing how worn out Levi is, she attempts to grab the Titan serum from his hand, as Levi reminds her that without Erwin's strength, humanity can never defeat the Titans. When Floch approaches her, she flips her blade in order to strike him with the blunt side of the sword and knock him down, only to be stopped by Hange. As they both struggle, Mikasa eventually capitulates, remembering a happier time when she, Eren and Armin were children, as tears roll down her face. After Armin returns to his human form, Mikasa, along with Eren, pick him up off the ground as she cries tears of joy to see he is alive and well.

Atop the Wall, after Eren informs Armin of what has happened after the battle ended, Hange orders Mikasa, Levi and Eren to continue surveying and head for the Jaeger family's house. Upon reaching the basement's door, Eren tries to open the door's lock and is surprised that the key does not fit. Levi kicks down the door and they enter the room.

They find it had been set up to appear as much as possible, a common doctor's office, but after further investigation Mikasa discovers a keyhole on a locked drawer in the desk, which the key unlocks. The drawer seems empty at first, but Levi notices the false bottom and under it they find three hidden books kept intact with various preservatives. Mikasa and Eren open the first book, and within it they find an uncannily realistic portrait of Grisha standing beside a fair-haired woman and a child. On the back of it, Grisha had written that what they are holding is called a "photograph" and that humanity has not perished.

Upon returning to the Walls, Eren and Mikasa are put in prison cells for several days as punishment for their actions against Levi. During this time, Armin visits them and logs Eren's memories as he retells them of many events in his father Grisha’s life that matched up with what was found in the books in his basement. Among these memories is a conversation between him and Eren Kruger, an allied spy to the Restorationists.

During this conversation, Kruger tells Grisha that anyone who has inherited the power of the Titans will only live for 13 years, as no one with this power can out live its original owner Ymir Fritz who founded the nation of Eldia and all its subjects. Upon hearing this revelation, Mikasa becomes very depressed and denies its validity, knowing that Armin and Eren only have a short number of years left to live if it is true. After Hange, the current commander, puts too much pressure on Eren in the next prison cell, Levi ordered them free. Mikasa leaves her cell, having lost weight after not eating in her state of depression.

Mikasa attends a military meeting on how to proceed with the findings of the basement in Trost. She sits silently as Hange deliberates their interpretation of the events, but is shocked and confused when Eren shouts all of a sudden during the meeting.

The nine surviving Scouts later attend a ceremony to be honored for their success in the Battle of Shiganshina District. Before the start of the ceremony, Eren gets into an argument with Floch over Armin being saved over Commander Erwin. When she attempts to calm Eren down, Floch commends Mikasa over her acting like an adult and giving up in saving Armin. This statement surprises and upsets her. She would later go on to be commemorated for her bravery in Shiganshina with a medal.

Roughly a year after the Struggle for Trost, after the Executioner from Hell has eradicated all Titans within Wall Maria and Shiganshina has been repopulated, the Scout Regiment was able to hold an expedition beyond the Walls for the first time in six years. Mikasa ventures out on horseback, beyond the Walls for the first time. After following a deformed Titans trail, the Scouts reach the edge of Paradis Island, and behold the ocean.

The Scouts dismount their horses, discard their boots, and head to the beachfront. Mikasa is startled by an ocean wave, but goes on to give Armin a warm smile. She listens as Armin begins to joyfully talk with Eren over the immense size of the ocean. However, these happy moments fade as Eren solemnly states that the ocean does not hold freedom, and that enemies are still awaiting them across the other side.

Marley arc
One year after retaking Shiganshina, Mikasa goes with the other members of the Scouts to intercept a survey ship sent from Marley. Like the others present, Mikasa is surprised to see two sailors rebel and force the others to surrender. While watching the two meet with Levi and Hange, Mikasa ponders what their plan might be while trying to wake up Sasha.

An alliance is formed between Paradis and the group of rebels, calling themselves the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers, and preparations and training begin for the impending war with Marley. While at a firing range, Mikasa and Armin both agree that it is good to see both sides are getting along with each other, but are visibly troubled by Eren's insistence that Paradis must launch a preemptive assault on Marley to buy themselves more time to prepare.

Mikasa is among the Scouts that meet with an ambassador from the nation of Hizuru named Kiyomi Azumabito. At a meeting between the two parties, Kiyomi displays the crest of the Azumabito clan and Mikasa is shaken to see it is the same as the tattoo on her wrist. After some prompting by Eren, Mikasa shares it, saying that her mother gave it to her as a girl and to pass it down to her children later on.

Kiyomi describes how both Hizuru and Eldia were allies long ago and laments that the nation suffered after the Great Titan War. Kiyomi finishes by stating that Mikasa is the descendant of Hizuru's lost lord and the hope for their nation. Although Mikasa is overwhelmed by this information, Historia is ecstatic, believing that Hizuru will be more willing to trust Paradis due to Mikasa's lineage.

Months later, after spending the day building train tracks, Eren mentions that he only has roughly five years left to live and begins to consider who he should pass his Titan abilities to. Mikasa immediately volunteers herself but Jean advises against it; Mikasa is half-Asian, and they do not know what the Ackermann clan is (if they are Subjects of Ymir or not), so she might not even be capable of becoming a Titan at all.

As the others volunteer themselves also, Eren decides to not choose any of them due to valuing their friendship and not wanting to have any of their lives forcibly cut short on his behalf.

As Eren begins his assault on the Marleyans, Mikasa joins the Scout Regiment in retrieving him and attacking Liberio. During the battle between Eren and the War Hammer Titan Mikasa attacks the War Hammer from behind, launching eight Thunder Spears into its nape.

Mikasa lands on the shoulder of the decapitated Attack Titan and asks Eren to come home. Mikasa demands to know if Eren realizes the horror he has committed, killing civilians and children. Eren does not answer the question and instead points out that the War Hammer Titan is still alive. Mikasa is shocked to see the Titan standing up, since she is sure that she destroyed its nape completely, and the War Hammer Titan then fires a pike of its hardened substance towards them.

Mikasa quickly grabs Eren and flees away of the Attack Titan's body, barely avoiding getting struck. Eren comes up with a plan to defeat and eat the War Hammer Titan, and asks Mikasa to distract the enemy enough for him to enact it.

Mikasa re-engages the War Hammer Titan while Eren transforms back into the Attack Titan and captures the War Hammer's pilot, who was hiding under the ground encased in crystal and controlling the War Hammer remotely via a long cord. The Jaw Titan tries to ambush Eren but is fended off by Levi, allowing Mikasa to intercept him and knock him down off the wall with a Thunder Spear. However, she is forced to break off her attack by the arrival of the Cart Titan.

While the Scouts and Warriors clash, Mikasa attempts to destroy the War Hammer's crystal with a Thunder Spear, but it fails to even crack. Staying close to Eren, she watches as he unsuccessfully tries to consume the crystal. The Jaw Titan attempts to charge Eren but Mikasa intervenes, drawing her blades to engage it.

Mikasa swings her swords at the Jaw Titan but it lunges out of the way and goes for the Attack Titan. She follows it and tries to provide support and as it momentarily breaks off from the attack, Mikasa notes that this current Jaw Titan is much faster than Ymir's Titan. It then switches its focus from Eren to an incoming airship that serves as the Scouts' method of retreat from the battle.

Mikasa anticipates the Jaw Titan going after the airship and manages to catch it off guard, slicing through both legs. After Eren defeats Reiner's Titan, Mikasa flies to Eren and convinces him to come back home. She then leaves with Eren and flies toward the incoming airship.

After they board the airship, Levi kicks Eren due to his insubordination, infuriating Mikasa; she tries to protest, but is stopped by Armin. The four meet with Zeke and Yelena at another part of the ship. A commotion ensues outside and Conny and Jean enter the room, carrying two captured stowaways. Jean announces that one of them shot Sasha and she is unlikely to survive, prompting Mikasa and Armin to run out of the room to see her. Sasha dies from her injuries, with Mikasa and Armin futilely trying to wake her.

After the Scouts return to Paradis Island, Mikasa attends the funeral service held for the eight soldiers lost during the battle in Liberio. Afterward, she remains by Sasha's grave to continue mourning. She is interrupted by the sound of Conny and Jean saving Niccolo from being harassed by a Military Police Brigade soldier. As Nicolo pays his respects to Sasha, Mikasa informs him of how she died.

War for Paradis arc
When Conny mentions they should be prepared to kill Eren if he sides with their enemy, Mikasa opposes him but he glares at her and asks if she would side with the enemy too. Mikasa says no, but claims that Eren still cares for them and tries to convince them his recent behavior is reflective of that. The others do not believe her and Jean brings up the fact that despite this, Eren still had no problem forcing them to fight and that resulted in Sasha's death.

Mikasa is further shocked when Conny reveals that Eren laughed when told that Sasha had died. Armin decides they should prepare for a worst-case scenario to have someone turn and kill Eren if he proves to be a threat; Mikasa protests that he still has several years left, but Armin states they will decide what happens after confirming where Eren stands.

After a group of Scout Regiment recruits leak the news of Eren's arrest to the public and are found out, Mikasa attends the hearing that Hange conducts with them. After hearing them out, Hange orders the perpetrators jailed for their actions, and Mikasa escorts one of them, Louise, to her cell. Louise tries to justify Eren's actions and convince Mikasa to help free him, but Mikasa simply cuts her off and leaves.

Mikasa meets up with Armin and notifies him that Dhalis Zachary has agreed to see them. Both of them are stunned to hear Zachary refuse their request to see Eren and Mikasa is taken aback by the possibility that Zeke Jaeger has been controlling Eren's behavior and movements prior to the attack on Liberio.

After being sent away, Mikasa notices several Military Police soldiers enter Zachary's office and decides to eavesdrop; Armin tries to persuade her not to, but she insists on knowing what direction the Scout Regiment is going. Suddenly, she grabs Armin and dives away just as an explosion goes off in Zachary's office. They both go outside and see Zachary's dismembered corpse from the blast; Mikasa is speechless about who could have been behind the assassination as the crowd of protesters chant in approval.

During an emergency meeting by the other heads of the Military, Mikasa hears Armin testify that he observed several recruits from the Scouts leave the area and were most likely responsible for the explosion. She is shocked to hear Eren has escaped confinement and blocked his escape route so no one could follow him. Mikasa accompanies Armin, Hange and Onyankopon as the military conduct a search for the renegades, staring blankly ahead and unresponsive to Armin as he tries to calm her.

Later, Mikasa attends another meeting to plan the military's response to the emergence of the rebels, now dubbed the "Jaegerists." As the meeting concludes, Kiyomi pulls Mikasa aside to ask her to consider fleeing to the Azumabito's ship if the need arises. Mikasa thanks her for her consideration, though makes clear that she sees herself as an Eldian foremost, and intends to see the fate of the island that raised her.

Furthermore, after Kiyomi tells her of the Azumabito's shaky political situation, Mikasa says that this is all the more situation to not rely on the family. Despite Mikasa's words, Kiyomi states that no matter what happens with the island, the family will protect her. Heading outside with the other Scout veterans, Mikasa briefly squabbles with Conny over Eren's connection to the Jaegerists, and over being suspected. Believing Zeke to have a secret scheme, the Scouts ride out to a lead; a restaurant employing Marleyan workers.

After arriving for their investigation and meeting up with Nicolo, Mikasa and the others wait in a backroom for him to finish his work. A short while later, Armin calls everybody into the main room, where Nicolo is attacking the run-away Warrior candidates over the murder of Sasha.

Eventually, when Artur Braus's understanding attitude calms the situation down, Mikasa goes over to the female candidate to check on her wounds. Suddenly, another young girl named Kaya attempts to stab the candidate, however Mikasa blocks the attack. Mikasa and Armin take her into the next room as the Braus family weep.

In a separate room, Mikasa sits with Gabi and Armin; when asked by Gabi why she saved her, Mikasa does not give any reason why when Eren unexpectedly appears. Before they can say anything, Eren silently holds up his right hand which is bleeding. Understanding Eren's intent if they do not comply, Mikasa and Armin obey his request to sit down at the table. Eren claims that he is free but Mikasa argues that he is being controlled by Zeke.

She mentions how Eren was not like this ever before and brings up how he saved her from being kidnapped all those years ago, pointing to the scarf Eren gave her. Eren glares at her and firmly reminds her to keep her hands on the table. Stunned by this reaction, Mikasa silently complies. Eren reveals that he has learned about the Ackermann family from Zeke, claiming the clan can manifest the power of the Titans while remaining in human form and will activate in the presence of a person recognized as the king. He muses that her instincts as an Ackermann are the reason Mikasa has stuck by him for so long.

Mikasa tries to protest but Eren remarks that Ackermanns also suffer severe headaches due to their true selves fighting the urge to protect the host. Recalling Mikasa's headaches, Eren claims that the real Mikasa died the day he rescued her from her kidnappers. Mikasa is unable to speak and starts to break down and cry when Eren remarks he has always hated her, calling her nothing more than an obedient slave.

Armin tries to assault Eren but Mikasa swiftly blocks his attack and slams him into the table, to their mutual shock. As Eren starts beating Armin, Mikasa continues to cry and begs him to stop. Eren then orders her, Armin and Gabi taken away to Shiganshina District.

Afterwards, Mikasa and Armin are relocated to a prison cell alongside the other captives. During her imprisonment, Jean inquires more from Armin about the two's recent encounter with Eren but Mikasa rebuffs the remarks not wanting Armin to explain. They are then interrupted by Yelena who came to explain Zeke's true intentions. After Yelena's departure, a fight breaks out on the roof of the military's headquarters. As the fight on the rooftop ensues, Mikasa and the other prisoners wonder what the sound overhead them was about. Onyankopon arrives shortly to release them, requesting that all imprisoned soldiers join the fight against Marley to keep Eren safe.

As they head to put on sets of ODMG, Mikasa and Armin discuss what Eren's motivations might be for pushing them away. Although Armin is unsure of Eren's intentions, he assures Mikasa that Eren was lying about her Ackermann genes, and simply used his knowledge of her headaches to give his lie credence. As she is suiting up, Mikasa is visited by Louise, who tries to bond with her. Mikasa ignores the girl, and departs for the battle field; before leaving, she folds up the scarf given to her by Eren and leaves it behind.

Lost in the cruel world
In the year 844, Dr. Jaeger and his son, Eren, visit the Ackermann family for a checkup on Mikasa's pregnant mother. Eren is introduced to Mikasa and the two begin wandering the nearby forest. Eren tells Mikasa that he heard her mother is pregnant, to which Mikasa confirms and says her mother believes it to be a boy. He then reveals to her his desire to join the Scout Regiment and explore the outside world. Their conversation is cut short when they hear the barking of wild dogs that have killed a trio of travelers. Eren and Mikasa return to the house and inform Dr. Jaeger and Mikasa's parents of the bodies they saw.

Afterward, Dr. Jaeger began returning to check on Mikasa's mother more often, bringing Eren with him each time. In these later visits, the two avoided the forest and played around the house. On one of these visits, Mikasa learns about Eren's friend, Armin, who Eren says is very intelligent. Mikasa wonders if Armin knows how babies are made, and Eren tells her that they are brought to mothers by a bird that puts the child in the stomach. Eren tells Mikasa that one day, he and Armin will see the outside world.

During the next visit, Eren arrives with many injuries to his face. He tells Mikasa about the outside world and describes the ocean as being a large amount of salt water that is big enough to the point merchants could never sell all of its salt. Mentioning that the people who fought him are cowards who are content with living ignorant within the Walls, Eren reiterates his desire to join the Scout Regiment to see the outside world. Mikasa worries that he might end up in an even worse shape, but knows she cannot stop him, and wishes that she at least be by his side.

Sometime later, Mikasa is sent to Shiganshina to return a hat Dr. Jaeger had forgotten at her house. Arriving by a ferry boat, Mikasa is happy to find Eren waiting for her upon docking. Hearing the bell that signals the return of the Scout Regiment from an exterior scouting mission, Eren eagerly heads to see the Scouts, which return in shambles.

Seeing the state of the Scouts, Mikasa grows even more worried for Eren's sake and asks him if he still plans to join. Eren suddenly strikes a citizen speaking against the Scouts, causing him to get beaten by the man while Mikasa watches helplessly. That night, Eren is taken to his home and his wounds are treated. Mikasa sits by his bed and is relieved as he wakes up.

During Dr. Jaeger's subsequent visits to Mikasa's house, Eren is not present. Winter comes and passes by and Eren is still not visiting. Mikasa wishes that she could see him. Sometime later, she overhears Dr. Jaeger telling her father that her mother has an infection, and that they need to be moved closer to his house in Shiganshina. Feeling that her wish to see Eren is what caused her mother to become sick, Mikasa rushes to her mother's side and apologizes to her.

In Shiganshina, Mikasa questions why Eren stopped visiting her, and he tells her that the Scout Regiment has been disbanded for the lack of results, with the gate leading to the outside of the Wall being sealed off. Mikasa is relieved that Eren will not be able to leave the Walls, but he adds that he will be leaving with Armin using a hot air balloon they are building, and it is why he could not visit her. Mikasa asks Eren to take her with him, and he responds by wrapping his scarf around her and mentioning a path to a nearby forest, telling her that she can return it to him there in three days.

A festival is held in Shiganshina as celebration of the sealing of the gate. Remembering Eren telling her that they will be leaving at the third ring of the bell, Mikasa rushes through the street as she hears the first ring, but is suddenly grabbed by a masked man. The man urges the crowd to look at him as he attempts to turn Mikasa into a murderer. Mikasa begs him to let her go so that she can see her friend, and the man agrees at first, but then tells her that he does not want to be made a liar.

He suggests for Mikasa to kill him right away, since hypnotizing her would take more time. Mikasa hears the second ring of the bell, and the masked man warns her that she will not be able to meet her friend anymore. Mikasa is shocked to learn that the man knows Eren, and starts to question him of his identity. Handing Mikasa a knife, the man says that he knows that she is lost, and is here in this world she created because she could not accept Eren's death, telling her that she cannot save him.

Hearing the third ring of the bell, Mikasa questions why the man is getting in her way. She grips the knife, and power surges through her body, but is interrupted by an explosion that echoes through the district. When Mikasa returns her focus to the man, she finds him lying motionless, with blood all over her. He gets up, announcing his success and revealing his death to be an elaborate stunt.

Mikasa arrives to where Eren told her to meet him, but finds Armin alone. He begins to cry and apologizes to Mikasa, informing her of how Eren died to save him from the hot air balloon accident.

Physical strength
Owing to the need to protect Eren who often runs off looking for trouble, Mikasa had honed herself to be a talented fighter at a very young age, often throwing boys bigger than her with ease, gaining her reputation. An example of this is when Armin was being bullied and Eren came to his rescue. The boys were preparing to take Eren on when they saw Mikasa behind him and promptly ran away, even though the bullies had superior numbers. She is strong enough to lift Eren off the ground without effort.

Omni-directional mobility gear
While she was still training, Keith even noted that Mikasa's performance is exemplary in every subject, and that she is truly a genius. Combined with her prodigious skill in omni-directional mobility gear, she can easily take down Titans with speed and efficiency. This has led to her being mentioned as a military genius many times and "her prowess is equal to that of a hundred ordinary soldiers." With such prodigious skills coupled with her own remarkable will, she displays lethal force against Titans rarely seen among soldiers, recruits, or veterans alike. This is particularly shown by the fact that she faced the Female Titan twice, who had killed numerous experienced veterans with ease before, and survived both encounters.

Relationships

 * Eren Jaeger - Mikasa considers Eren to be her "family," since she was taken into his home following the death of her parents. She always wears a scarf, given to her by Eren, as a token of the moment when he first wrapped it around her in an attempt to comfort her when she had first lost all hope. From the time he saved her life and accepted her into his home, Eren has been a great source of strength and comfort for her, and when she had thought him dead, she very nearly allowed herself to die as well, but kept living on to remember him. She became distraught when learning Eren had been abducted, wrapping the scarf over her face to hide her sadness. Because he is the only "family" she has left, she will go to any lengths to ensure his safety, and vows to follow him wherever he may go, stating her only wish is to remain by his side; this often results in Eren becoming annoyed whenever she becomes too protective, and telling her not to treat him like her "little brother." Due to the intensity of her devotion to him, several people, from Ian to Jean and even Levi, are confused about the nature of their relationship. Interestingly, Mikasa only ever blushes when Eren is involved. Examples of this include her embarrassed blush when Ian mistook him for her lover during the reconquest of Trost, and Armin leaving her alone with Eren after capturing the Female Titan. When she believed that she and Eren were about to be killed by the Smiling Titan, she thanked him for everything he has done for her all this time.
 * Armin Arlelt - Mikasa is a very close friend of Armin's. She frequently helped Eren fend off the older boys who bullied him when they were children. Mikasa trusts Armin's ability to come up with the best strategy during dire situations, which is why she refuses to leave him behind to his death during the Battle of Trost. Her faith in him, along with Eren's, is responsible for Armin's boost in confidence when he attempts to convince a hostile brigade of soldiers of Eren's value as a military weapon. Normally composed, Mikasa breaks down in tears over the decision whether or not to save Armin with the Titan injection.
 * Annie Leonhart - Their relationship is implied to be some sort of rivalry. Their animosity deepens when Annie was found to be the Female Titan and was responsible for the deaths of countless soldiers and Eren's attempted kidnapping. Things came to a peak as Mikasa became fed up with Annie's games and called her out as the Female Titan that had attacked them. With that exposed, Mikasa stopped Annie from escaping by cutting off her fingers and forcing her to fall from the Wall.
 * Jean Kirschtein - Her primary interactions with him relate to his rivalry with Eren, and it is unclear whether she is even aware of his affections for her. When he grimly admonished Eren for attacking her, Mikasa felt Jean was attempting to discredit Eren, and quickly became defensive on his behalf.
 * Levi Ackermann - Their relationship began in a negative fashion, as she witnessed him beat Eren to a pulp during a military trial. She once swore to make him pay for his treatment of Eren and lashed out at him when the Female Titan managed to kidnap Eren after slaughtering Levi's squad. Regardless, he expresses an understanding of her and is wounded saving her life—while temporarily sidelined, he repeatedly offers her advice, and she herself later seems remorseful over causing his injury.
 * Grisha Jaeger - Though he initially hoped Mikasa would get along with Eren as a friend, in the end Grisha took in Mikasa after the brutal murder of her parents. He treated her kindly as if she were his own daughter, and for that Mikasa respected and gratefully relied on him as a father figure.
 * Carla Jaeger - Carla took care of Mikasa during her stay in the Jaegers' household. Much like her husband and son, she treated Mikasa as a family member and took care of her. The two seemed to have an implicit understanding between them when it came to keeping Eren out of trouble. Carla urged Mikasa to look out for Eren and give him help when he needed it. During the Titans' assault on their hometown, she desperately tried to lift the roof beam preventing Carla from running away from the danger. Despite Carla's pleas, she tearfully refused to leave her, and could not bring herself to watch as a Titan eventually killed and ate her.
 * Hannes - It was implied that Mikasa was grateful towards Hannes for rescuing her and Eren from being killed by the Titan that ate Eren's mother. Despite admitting to his cowardice in front of her, she did not resent him for failing to rescue Carla, and she valued him as one of the few people left with whom she shared memories of more peaceful times.
 * Father and mother - Mikasa shared a loving bond with her parents, and was happy with the simple life they shared. Mikasa's father was a kind father to Mikasa, and she was very relaxed around him. She was not shy about asking either parent anything she did not know and trusted them completely. The day a trio of bandits attacked and killed her parents in front of her, Mikasa lost all hope and believed her world had gone cold until Eren's father decided to take her in.
 * Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover - While we rarely see her interact with either of them, she fails to kill them on learning their true identities suggesting that she considered them as her comrades. Later on when Bertholdt tearfully explains their plight, Mikasa appears to be cold and firmly insists on having Eren back.
 * Louise - After Mikasa saved a young Louise and her mother during the Battle of Trost, Mikasa left an indelible impression on the girl. After this, Lousie began idolizing Mikasa, which ultimately became her primary reason for joining the Scout Regiment. Years later, Mikasa reunites with Louise but is slightly put off by her constant idolization and also disapproves of how she has decided to follow Eren and the Jaegerists. Nevertheless, Louise continues to look up to Mikasa for strength and leadership, wanting to get closer to her.

People killed

 * One unnamed bandit
 * Four members of the Anti-Personnel Control Squad

Failed attempts

 * Annie Leonhart
 * Reiner Braun
 * Bertholdt Hoover
 * Ymir
 * Caven
 * Lara Tybur

Trivia

 * Hajime Isayama based Mikasa's physical design off of a woman he met while working a part-time job before starting his manga career. Specifically, he claims to have gotten the ideas for Mikasa's scarf, hairstyle, eyes and eyebrows from the woman. He has also noted that he originally intended for Mikasa to be a Westerner like the rest of the series' cast and only decided to make her part-Asian after seeing the woman.
 * Mikasa's name is taken from the battleship, a unique pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and served as a flagship during the Russo-Japanese War. Isayama, supposedly named Mikasa after this vessel due to his belief that series' with female characters named after famous warships come to be successful.
 * Mikasa's surname is derived from the Yiddish cognate of German name "Ackermann" meaning "one who works the fields."
 * According to an interview with Isayama, Mikasa will opt to not wear her scarf if it is too hot out.
 * According to Isayama, if the 104th Cadet Corps had an arm wrestling competition, Mikasa would place first.
 * Mikasa is one of the Attack on Titan characters who were made into Nendoroid figures, along with Eren, Levi, and the Colossal Titan. A Nendoroid playset of the Attack on Titan setting was also made.
 * In the game Age of Gunslingers Online, a special Titan Mode was made as a tribute to the series. It features Elsa, an NPC modeled after Mikasa and voiced by . A trailer of this mode can be viewed here. A special skin for the Blade Class is also available for purchase.
 * In The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror XXV," several other incarnations from other animated franchises of the family are shown, each one with a respective theme. In the anime theme, each of the family members were depicted as a specific anime character. Lisa portrayed Mikasa, with her traditional hairstyle and military outfit using the omni-directional mobility gear.
 * Mikasa is one of eight characters to have her own song. The others being Eren, Armin, Jean, Levi, Erwin, Reiner, and Bertholdt. Out of the eight characters to have a song, Mikasa is the only female character. Mikasa's song is called No matter where you are.
 * Metalcore band Veil of Maya made a song called "Mikasa" which is based of this character.

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