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This article is about the first of all Titans. For the 104th Training Corps graduate, see Ymir. For other subjects by the name of Ymir or the Founding Titan, see Ymir (Disambiguation) or Founding Titan (Disambiguation) respectively.
| Founding Titans | ||
|---|---|---|
| ◄ Preceded by | Ymir Fritz | Followed by ► |
| None | One of her daughters, eventually Karl Fritz | |
Ymir Fritz (ユミル・フリッツ Yumiru Furittsu?) was the first person to obtain the power of the Titans.[3][4] She was a slave of the Eldian king who abused her power to bring prosperity to Eldia and devastation to Marley and the rest of the world. Thirteen years after awakening her power, she died protecting the king, and her corpse was cannibalized by their daughters, Maria, Rose, and Sheena. Her powers then split into eventually what is known as the Nine Titans.[3][5][6]
Upon her death, Ymir was transported to the Coordinate, where she molded Titans out of the sands, and obeyed the royal family whenever they sought the Founder's power.[7]
Appearance
Human
Ymir Fritz was small in stature with light hair. As a slave, she wore simple clothing with a cloth headband, sash belt, and leather sandals laced above her ankles. After entering the favor of the king of Eldia in adulthood, Ymir wore a sleeveless dress with thin bands around each arm.
In posthumous illustrations depicting Ymir Fritz, she is shown as a young girl wearing white robes. In the book Frieda Reiss reads to Historia, Ymir is dark-haired, whereas in the book Mr. Yeager reads to Grisha, she is fair-haired.
Titan
Ymir Fritz's Titan form was enormous in size with light hair, a feminine figure, and long protruding ribs. Her Titan's face possessed no apparent skin, musculature, or eyes, leaving only a skull visible.
In posthumous illustrations, Ymir's Titan form is highly romanticized with more human features.
Personality
Frieda Reiss describes Ymir as a kind girl who was always thinking of others.[2][8] In reality, she was a slave with no will of her own.[9] She submitted to the Eldian king in life, building him his empire, destroying his enemies, and bearing his children.[10] She even sacrificed her own life for him.[11] After she died, she remained obedient to the Eldian royal family.[9]
History
Ymir became one of Eldia's slaves
Nearly 2,000 years ago, Ymir's village was attacked and enslaved by the Eldians, who then cut off their tongues. One day after a pig was released, the tribe's ruler, Fritz, called all of the slaves and asked for the culprit. The slaves all began to point at Ymir, who was then "freed" only to be hunted by dogs and men for sport.
Wounded and desperate, Ymir took shelter in a nearby tree, but as soon as she stepped in, she slipped and fell into an underground body of water. There, she came into contact with a mysterious spine-like creature which attached to her back and triggered the first Titan transformation.
Ymir's corpse was cannibalized by her daughters
After gaining her ability, Ymir returned to Fritz and served him again, using her Titan to cultivate land, build bridges, and amass wealth for the Eldians. Under his command, she also destroyed the forces of Eldia's rival, Marley. To "reward" Ymir for her service, Fritz gave her his name, took her as his concubine, and together the two had three children: Maria, Rose, and Sheena.
After serving the king for 13 years, Ymir died while thwarting an assassination attempt on his life. After her death, Ymir found herself inside a mysterious land, meanwhile the king forced his and Ymir's daughters to eat Ymir's corpse in an attempt to preserve the power of the Titans. He commanded the daughters to continue to reproduce and cannibalize each other so that Ymir's blood does not run out and Eldia could rule forever with its Titans. Ymir's powers became the Nine Titans and she continued to serve her descendants, building them Titans whenever they need them.[6]
Mythology
Marleyan interpretation of Ymir
Some time after her death, Ymir's existence was hailed as a god-given miracle. Many would claim that as the Founding Titan, she used her Titan power to cultivate barren lands, build roads across the lands, and raise bridges through the mountains of the world,[12] though these claims could never be supported.[4] On the other hand, after the fall of the Eldian Empire in the Great Titan War, the new Marley government would spread slanderous legends that Ymir's power was derived from the "Devil of All Earth."[3]
"Krista" in Frieda's storybook
Many centuries later, Frieda Reiss, a descendant of Ymir, would visit her half-sister Historia on the farm where she was raised. During some of her visits, Frieda told Historia the story of Ymir's deal with the Devil; however, in this book, Ymir was named "Krista."[1] Frieda advised Historia that she must be lady-like, as "Krista" was. She spoke of "Krista" as being an altruistic girl, and urged Historia to be loving and beloved like her when she is grown. However, Historia did not remember these visits, since Frieda always used the Founding Titan to erase her memories after every encounter. Historia would only recall vague images of "Krista"'s story in the years to come.[13][14]
Legacy
Return to Shiganshina arc
Ymir Fritz stands above the Nine Titans
Some years later, when the Survey Corps discovers Grisha Yeager's basement, they find three journals.[15] Within Grisha's writings, he recounts his childhood when he was told the story of Ymir and her people by his father.[16] Grisha writes of joining the Eldian Restorationists in the nation of Marley several years afterward, learning of the supposed great accomplishments achieved in Ymir's time. Together with the resistance, Grisha declares that they must venture to Paradis Island, where Ymir's descendants had fled eighty years ago, in order to retrieve the Founding Titan and bring back the nation of Eldia.[17]
Unnamed final arc
While on the verge of death, Zeke Yeager would awaken in an unknown land to discover Ymir molding his damaged body with earth.[18]
During the assault on Shiganshina, Zeke and his younger half-brother Eren Yeager are able to make contact with each other before awakening in the path. As Ymir approaches, Eren demands she lend him her strength but his pleas are ignored. Zeke subsequently reveals he has nullified the vow to renounce war through Ymir who only obeys her own descendants before using her to restrain Eren.[19] After Zeke shows Eren the memories of their father Grisha, Zeke realizes that Eren was responsible for Grisha's actions against the Reiss family and that his ultimate goal is inevitable. In a desperate panic, Zeke orders Ymir to sterilize the Subjects of Ymir, and Ymir approaches the Coordinate of converging paths to fulfill Zeke's will.[20]
Trivia
- Ymir is a primeval being in Norse mythology who is the progenitor of all jötnar (giants). "Ymir" also means "the scream." Both are appropriate to Ymir Fritz, as she was the progenitor of all Titans ("giants" in the original Japanese) and possessed the power of the Founding Titan, which is used by screaming.
- In Frieda's storybook, Ymir is named "Krista."[1]
- The summary at the beginning of Volume 22 claims that Ymir Fritz is the "progenitor of the Eldians." However, this is untrue as Eldia existed before Ymir, and Ymir herself was not even an Eldian.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 51 (p. 20)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 54 (p. 4)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 86 (p. 17)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 88 (p. 27)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 88 (p. 21)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 122
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 120 (p. 18)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 122 (p. 1-3)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 120 (p. 29)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 122 (p. 16-19)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 122 (p. 21-22)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 86 (p. 27)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 54 (p. 4-6)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 51 (p. Additional Scene)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 85 (p. 37)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 86 (p. 17-23)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 86 (p. 27-35)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 115 (p. 39-40)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 120 (p. 17-30)
- ↑ Attack on Titan manga: Chapter 121 (p. 38 - 45)