Armin Arlert has been featured, meaning it was chosen as an article of interest.
Armin Arlert (アルミン・アルレルトArumin Arureruto?) is a childhood friend of Eren's
and the deuteragonist in the series. Although physically more frail
than most, if not all of the current recruits, he has proven his skills
as a field tactician and strategist with his high intelligence.
Personality
Armin ready to save the situation
Armin was very timid as a child, and coupled with the fact that he
was physically frail, often ended up an easy target for bullies. He was
so timid that he would refuse to fight back despite being taunted to do
so, always needing Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman
to fend for him. As such, he grew up having very low opinion of
himself, thinking that he was useless. He enlisted only because his two
best friends, Eren and Mikasa, were enlisting. Despite being timid, he
has a variety of traits and talents that contrasts to his timid self,
which began showing as he grew older and learnt to appreciate his own
talents and develop a higher opinion of himself. He has a big dream of
wanting to venture outside the walls to see the world - a dream that he
shares with Eren. He is also a loyal person who is willing to put
himself in harm's way to defend a friend, shown when he was, along with
Mikasa, willing to defend Eren against hostile fellow soldiers despite
the very high risk of being killed. During training, despite always on
the verge of failure due to his physical frailty, he was shown to be
very persistent despite the odds, refusing to give up and did his best
to catch up with his friends. He was also shown during training to have a
sense of dignity when Reiner offered to carry his gear for him during a
drill and he refused the offer outright due to the fact that doing so
would mean that he was weak and uncapable. He is the brains of the team
and he impressed Dot Pixis, the high ranking officer in charge of the
cities defense, by his brilliant plan to attract the Titans during the
battle of Trost.
Appearance
Armin is rather short, for his age with a petite build; this lead to
his constant bullying as a child. Armin has a round face, framed by his
blonde hair and he has round blue-eyes and a pudgy nose. He, unlike
Eren, wears a calm look with his eyebrows cast downward that changes
from determined, when being strategic, or wide-eyed when shocked or
surprised.
During his childhood, he wore a long-sleeved suit-like jacket
with a collared shirt, long dress-pants and dress shoes. As a solider,
Armin wears the traditional Survey Corps uniform. Underneath his short
brown jacket, he wears a white and collared button up shirt, similar to
the one he'd worn as an adolescent. Armin also accompanies his attire
with a large green cape when assigned missions on the exterior of the
Wall.
History
Before Year 845
Armin originally lived in Shiganshina
with his parents and grandfather. He was a close friend to Eren and
used to discuss with him about the outside world with its salty oceans,
deserts and other surreal places. He inspired him to dream about being
free and explore the world beyond the Walls. He used to get into trouble
with local bullies for talking about the outside world and was regarded
as a heretic.
Armin, Eren and Mikasa see the Colossal Titan
In year 845, Armin is first introduced being confronted by local
school bullies until Eren and Mikasa come to his rescue. The trio would
then loiter around as Eren continues to muse about his desire to join
the Survey Corps. Later in the afternoon, the Colossal Titan would
appear and breach the Shiganshina district of Wall Maria, which causes
Eren and Mikasa to head in the direction of their house. Though Armin
attempts to call out to them, he holds himself back out of fear.
Unbeknownst to Eren and Mikasa, he asks Hannes
to fetch the two as they were going too close towards the Titans'
direction. He and his grandfather sit aboard a ship, waiting for Eren
and Mikasa. A year later, Armin's grandfather left with other refugees
on a campaign to retake Wall Maria. However, he died on the mission and
Armin was left alone with Mikasa and Eren.
Armin decides to join military training along with Mikasa and Eren,
because after his parents and grandfather got killed, he couldn't sit
around doing nothing. He was able to pass the basic aptitude test after
some effort and tries to help Eren with it. Armin was considered weak in
physical strength and graduated below the top ten. However, he was top
of the class when it came to theoretical courses. Although his plans
have saved Eren and Mikasa several times, he doesn't realize it and despises himself for being reliant on them.
Armin fears humanity's fate when he hears of the attack on Trost. He
trembles in fear and was having problems in fixing his gear, when Eren
tells him that not all was lost. Armin joins Eren's squad to guard the
middle of Trost and departs with him to their prescribed location. On
the way, Titans attack and eat up everyone in his squad except him.
Armin supposedly blamed himself for allowing Eren to sacrifice himself
to the bearded Titan. Mikasa tells Armin that his strategies have always saved their lives and he should have more faith in himself.
In Trost's military headquarters, a number of Titans were
attacking them and had took control of the supply depot. Armin devised a
plan, wherein the soldiers would lower themselves via an elevator and
lure the seven Titans towards them. As soon as they get close enough,
everyone would shoot their eyes with firearms, momentarily blinding them
and seven skilled soldiers, who would be hiding beforehand, would
attack and kill those Titans from behind. The plan succeeded and
everyone was able to refill their gas tanks to return alive.
Eren, Mikasa and Armin surrounded by the soldiers
After recovering Eren, he was detained by a group of soldiers and was
going to be executed. Armin and Mikasa defend him, as he wakes up and
is surprised. Eren plans to escape over the walls unless Armin was able
to convince the soldiers regarding Eren's value to humanity. Eren tells
him that his quick thinking had saved him and Mikasa before, as he was
the one who went to Hannes when Shinganshina was being attacked. Armin,
more confident than ever, walks over and tries convincing the soldiers
about Eren's strategic and tactical importance in turning the tide of
the battle in Trost. As a soldier, he passionately decides to die for
this cause and makes a grand salute. Pixis notices his determination and passion and prevents their execution.
Now with a boost in self-confidence, he tells the senior
strategists about a plan to retake Trost. He tells them that Eren could
carry the boulder over to the hole while other soldiers could lure the
Titans towards the walls. They proceed with the plan. Later, when Eren
lost control and was knocked out, Armin goes running towards Eren and
lands on his back. He remembers the position from where Eren had risen
earlier, so stabs him a little askew so that it wouldn't be fatal, but
would wake him up. He reminds Eren of his dream to go outside and his
personal vendetta against the Titans. Eren, successfully motivated by
Armin's effort, carries the boulder and plugs the breach.
After the news had spread that two Titans, Sonny and Bean
, were slain, Armin along with other trainees from the 104th Trainee
Squad are called in for inspection. Armin, Annie and Connie discuss
which branch of the military they would join, in which Armin declares
his decision to join. Unbeknownst to Annie, Armin notices that she is
possession of Marco's Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear. He realizes that Annie might have been the one who killed the two Titans but decided not to believe his train of thoughts.
Armin encounters the Female Titan
After joining the Survey Corps with Eren, Mikasa and the other graduates (excluding Annie Leonhart),
they went outside Wall Rose for the Survey Corps's 57th expedition,
when they were confronted by the sudden appearance of the Female Titan,
seemingly knowledgeable about military
formation. She attacked Armin while he was wearing his hood, under the
impression that he was Eren. However, once it was removed, she realized
she had the wrong subject and left him aside. Armin noticed a few things
regarding the female Titan: she avoided killing Jean and him even
though she had the chance, and it seemed as though Reiner had carved
letters onto her palms, after which she directly charged towards the
rear of the middle flank. Furthermore, she reacted to Eren's nickname
when Armin deceptively called on Jean to "avenge the suicidal
bastard." Adding the knowledge that Annie had used Marco's gear during
the checkup, Armin realized Annie was, indeed, the Female Titan.
Annie confronted by Armin
Armin asks Annie for her help in hiding Eren because she was in the
military police and they needed her to let them pass through Wall Shina
without suspicion. Annie accepts and Armin explained that he wanted to
take advantage of the geography there rather than use the 3DMG to bust
through. As she was leading them to a hiding place, Annie refused to go
inside to help them escape and asked him why he was looking at her with
suspicion. Armin then took the time to ask her the reason she was in
possession of Marco Bott's
3DMG. He recognized it not too long ago because he and Marco would
often do routine check-ups to make sure they were in pristine shape.
Annie confessed that she found it after Marco died and that she used her
own 3DMG to kill the two captured Titans. She then asked him if he had
already come to all those conclusions, why hadn't he taken action
earlier. Armin reasoned that he didn't do so because he wished to
believe that there was still something wrong with his train of thoughts.
It was when Annie refused to kill him that things turned out the way
they did.
Armin attempts to capture Annie by firing the signal from his
flare gun letting the townspeople capture her. As the people tried to
restrain her, she managed to injure herself with a sharp metal
projection hidden in her father's ring. Noticing this, Mikasa grabs both
Eren and Armin and takes them further underground as Annie in her Titan
form attempts to capture them. When Armin learns his plan had failed he
attempted to start plan B, trying to encourage Eren to fight Annie.
Eren tried to transform into his Titan form, but he was unable to do it.
It was only then Mikasa and Armin learned why, he was reluctant to
fight Annie again because he still couldn't believe that Annie was
indeed their enemy. And he didn't want to fight against one of his
comrades. Having no other option, Armin tells Eren that he and Mikasa
would go out through each of the two openings. Annie would go after one
of them and Eren should utilize the opportunity to escape via the other
opening. Realizing that his friends were in danger, Eren finally
transforms into a Titan and fights Annie.
After Annie's capture, Armin tells Jean Kirstein
that Eren's summonings to the King were cancelled and that Annie is the
Female Titan. She's been detained underground after encasing herself in
a crystal to avoid interrogation. Armin couldn't understand how the
walls were built in the first place because there were no stones or
bricks around. He hypothesizes that the Titan's hardening capabilities
were employed to build the walls. He believes it could explain how Annie
was able to encase herself in a crystal.
Armin's hypothesis was confirmed when the rock sample Lt. Hange had picked up from Annie's body matched the crystal properties of the Walls. He and the others learn from Lt. Hange that the only way they could repair the walls is if Eren can use his hardening abilities to help fix Wall Rose. Pastor Nick
tells them about a girl in the Survey Corps knowing more about what's
going on and it's up to her to decide if she'll talk. Armin then
recognized Krista because she was often seen with Ymir.
Once the Survey Corps had rescued the others from the South Squad, Armin learns that Krista's real name is Historia
and how heavily injured Ymir was during her fight with the Titans. He
immediately learns of Reiner and Berthold's secret correspondence with
Annie. Like Mikasa, Armin was very angry to learn about their betrayal
after overhearing the confession about them being responsible for Wall
Maria being breached.
During the battle with Bertolt and
Reiner, Armin states that the Colossal has very slow movements and that
they should exploit it. However, they were taken by surprise when
he uses his vapors of heat to keep them off him. Realising that Berthold
is just as desperate to stay alive, Lt. Hange orders Armin and the
other members of the Survey Corps to go after Reiner. Armin discovers a
weak link to Reiner's line of defense when he saw his armor break.
Giving Mikasa and extra set of blades, he tells her to go ofter the back
of his knee caps. Soon Berthold took everyone by surprise by falling
off the wall.
With Eren and Ymir now kidnapped by Bertolt and Reiner, he
focuses his attention in helping Mikasa and the others until help
arrives. Armin tells her the news that she had been dreading and
wrapping her lower face in the scarf, she cried. She asks him why he
always has to leave them behind when trouble rises. As Armin tries to
console her, Hannes arrives to give out rations to everyone in the
Survey Corps. He tells them that Eren has always been like that, running
into fights despite knowing the odds are against him. Hannes even
mentions that although he won't admit it, he always knew Armin and
Mikasa were there to help him out. Reinvigorated and determined to
rescue both Eren and Ymir, he takes his stance with the Survey Corps,
Wall Guards and Military Police. Armin wants Historia to stay within the
walls, but she refuses and decides to join them.
Armin and the others reach the Forest of Giant Trees
where Reiner and Bertolt were resting. While inside the forest on their
3D gears, they notice Ymir's Titan form. Armin suspiciously notices
that she was surveying everyone and wasn't responding to anyone. His
suspicions were confirmed when she captures Krista and escapes. He
realizes that Ymir was definitely working against them.
A short time later, he joins the other former members of the
104th in confronting the traitors. He remains silent during the initial
confrontation, and is forced to briefly retreat when Erwin Smith
lures a swarm of Titans into attacking the Armored Titan. When his
commander is wounded and carried off by a Titan, Armin remains focused
on the mission and joins the second attempt to retrieve Eren. Using his
gear to climb onto the Armored Titan's head, he desperately attempts to
think of what can be "sacrificed" in order to change their situation.
Remembering Bertolt 's concern when Annie joined another branch alone,
Armin informs her accomplices that she has been captured. Taking his
bluff a step further, he inquires whether they intend to leave her
behind in the Northern District, and cruelly describes how she is being
tortured. This has the intended effect, shocking Reiner and driving
Bertolt into a rage.
This allows Erwin, now missing an arm, to wound Bertolt and free Eren.
With their mission accomplished, Armin and the others attempt to retreat
as quickly as possible. However, their path is blocked when Reiner
panics and begins to throw Titans to prevent their escape.
This horrifies Armin, and he wonders why Reiner would do this
when it endangers Eren. At some point during the battle, a Titan lands
near him and knocks Jean unconscious. With no where to run, Armin drags
Jean towards a small cluster of trees and prepares to face an advancing
Titan with only one sword. He looks towards where Eren and Mikasa are,
seeing them in just as desperate a situation. The friends exchange
teary-eyed glances, preparing for the end.
He is saved when Eren's power as the Coordinate manifests, causing the Titans to attack first the Smiling Titan
and then the Armored Titan. This allows Armin to retrieve a horse, and
carry a wounded Jean to safety. They retreat from the battlefield,
mourning for the loss of Hannes and remembering their childhood with him.
A week later, Armin would be recruited by Levi to form a new
Special Operations Squad alongside the remaining members of the 104th's
top 10 trainees. During their first official operation, Armin serves as a
body double for Historia, and is eventually captured by the
organization that wishes to take possession of Eren and Historia.
Abilities
Armin discusses the plan of retaking Trost
Being one of the physically weakest soldiers there are, he is rarely
assigned to the frontlines and rarely seen using his 3DMG for fights.
His main strength however, lies within his intelligence - an innate
abilities in deduction and forming strategies, be it in a war room or on
the fly, as well as an eye for obscure details, making him a remarkable
field tactician, a trait that only he displays among the current
recruits. His strategies helped save his fellow soldiers numerous times
and more remarkably, he is the key person who deduced the identities of
all hostile Titan shifters among the current recruits. He wasn't able to
display his remarkable intelligence earlier due to a serious lack of
confidence in himself. After acknowledging that he is actually far more
useful than he thought he is, his genius as a tactician began to show
and thus far, even commanders are shown to take his opinions in matters
relating to Titans seriously.
Eren Yeager
- Eren is Armin's closest friend. Armin has always looked up to Eren as
he was always trying to save him from local bullies. He used to discuss
with Eren about the outside world and gave him dreams about exploration
and freedom. Armin initially felt that he was worthless and incompetent
in front of him. Eren, on the other hand, believed that his reasoning
abilities had saved him and Mikasa a number of times and trusted him
deeply. Eren gave him enough confidence to face a group of soldiers to
convince them of his strategical value to humankind.
Mikasa Ackerman
- Mikasa is a close friend of Armin's. Whenever Armin got into trouble
with local bullies, Mikasa would come and save him. Armin looked up to
Mikasa's strength and courage and felt inferior to her. Mikasa, however,
believed in Armin's abilities to reason out the best solution in a dire
situation and trusted him deeply. She was responsible for boosting
Armin's confidence and shaping his character.
Jean Kirstein
- While Armin was initially not that close to Jean due to the latter's
rivalry with Eren, their relationship has changed considerably since
joining the Survey Corps. Armin's growth as a strategist has aligned
with Jean's growth as a leader, and the two often share insights or
opinions with one another.
Annie Leonhart
- The two are shown to share a mutual respect for each other,
expressing admiration for each others' hidden qualities. This causes her
to hesitate when attacking in her Titan form, a mistake which allows
Armin to discover her true identity. He then uses emotional blackmail in
order to lure her into a trap and facilitates her eventual capture.
Reiner Braun
- Reiner is shown to have been protective of Armin, helping him during
physical training exercises and carrying him to safety during dangerous
operations. Armin initially defends him when he is suspected of being a
spy, but quickly realizes the truth and provides evidence of Reiner's
guilt.
Marco Bott
- Armin notes that they were friends, and did maintenance of their gear
together. This later allows him to recognize Marco's stolen gear when
it is presented by Annie as her own.
Trivia
Armin's character design for the animeThe name "Armin" may have multiple meanings, either from an old German word meaning "whole", or "Herman", meaning "soldier".
His birthday, November 3rd, is celebrated in Japan as Culture Day. This holiday promotes academics, culture, and the fine arts.
In sideart for Volume 11, Armin, along with a few other
characters, was depicted
Connie Springer (コニー・スプリンガーKonī Supuringā?), the stock character in the series, was a member of the 104th Trainees Squad. On graduation, he joined the Survey Corps.
Appearance
Connie is a small guy. He is only two centimeters shorter than Levi. He was mostly seen with the trainee squad uniform, but changed it to the Survey Corps uniform when he joined it. He has yellow/golden eyes and also very short hair, almost making him bald.
Personality
Connie's sorrow
Connie is very emotional and outgoing. Even in the worst scenario, he
always tries to get everyone pumped. Connie is keen on battle and
doesn't shy away for the chance to take on Titans.
Connie is one of the trainees in Trost District when the Colossal Titan breaches the wall. He is usually looking out for the others, as with the appearance of Eren Yeager's
Titan Form, came to check on Armin and Mikasa in the ensuing battle. He
is often seen carrying Armin while gliding with his 3D Maneuver Gear.
He, Armin and Mikasa burst through a window immediately after Eren
strikes two Titans, explaining to Jean Kirstein that the Titan attacks other Titans and ignores humans. He later joins Armin's
plan to break into the supply room and replenish their supply. He is
one of the best fighters in the group, and so is one of the seven
assigned to take down a Titan in the supply room with one strike. While he fails to kill his target with his first blow, he is rescued by Annie Leonhart.
He is one of the soldiers perched on top of one of the Giant Trees,
waiting for word from Levi's Squad with the others. He is seen returning
from the failed 57th Expedition along with the others, and is later
seen in the field riding a horse along with Sasha Blouse, Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, Krista Lenz and Ymir.
Later on, Connie is part of a group of Survey Corps members under investigation by Mike Zacharius under suspicion of being an accomplice to Annie.[2] However, when Titans mysteriously appear within Wall Rose, Mike sends them to warn the surrounding villages. Because Connie's home village of Ragako
is in the Titans' wake, he receives permission to join to the group
headed in that direction. They find the village seemingly deserted, with
no bodies but also no sign that the people fled. In the ruins of his
house, Connie finds an immobile Titan that reminds him of his mother. As
night falls, Connie and his group take refuge in Castle Utgard, which subsequently comes under siege by Titans.
During the siege, he is attacked by a smaller Titan and rescued
by Reiner, who is injured in the process. He expresses frustration that
Reiner has always protected him, and promises that someday he will repay
him in turn. Like the others, he is shocked when Ymir reveals herself
to be a Titan -- though he quickly nicknames her "Ugly" and gives her a
hard time. After the squad lead by Hange rescues them, Connie joins the
efforts to continue investigating Wall Rose for damage. When a battle
breaks out between the soldiers and the Armored Titan and Colossal
Titan, he is assigned to tend to the wounded. He begs one of the
officers to save Reiner and Bertholdt, fearing them missing and injured,
and unaware that they are the Titans being fought.
In the aftermath of the battle, Connie joins the rescue party.
However, he states he cannot believe Reiner and Bertolt are their
enemies, and is determined to hear it from them himself. When the team
finally arrives in the forest, he is one of those that encounters Ymir's
Titan form and identifies her for the others. When she fails to respond
to questions, he kicks her in the head and again calls her "Ugly". He
is shocked when Ymir suddenly attacks, kidnapping Krista and fleeing to
rejoin Reiner and Bertholdt.
Eventually, he is finally able to catch up to the traitors and
uses his gear to climb onto Reiner's shoulder. Together with Jean, he
confronts Bertolt (and Reiner) concerning the friendship they shared in
the past and their lies. He mentions that the members of the 104th Trainees Squad
had once promised to survive, and grow old together while reminiscing
over drinks. This, along with Jean's words, finally reach Bertolt and
cause him to break down. But before the group can react to Bertholdt's
confession of their betrayal, as well as their genuine affection for
them, Hannes shouts to warn them that Erwin Smith is leading a massive horde of Titans directly towards them.
He is forced to retreat, and watches in horror as his former
friends charge straight into the horde of Titans. When Erwin orders a
second charge, he follows the others back into battle. He later appears
elsewhere on the battlefield, using the chaos to retrieve Krista. When
she protests that he should leave her behind and declares that Ymir will
be killed if she doesn't go with the traitors, he refuses. He wonders
whether Ymir's claims are the truth, and points out to her that Ymir is
never serious unless it is for her sake. Stating that even an idiot like
him can tell how bad things are, he advises her (and Ymir, following
them in Titan form) to retreat for now since otherwise they'll all be
killed. However, before they can rejoin the main forces, the Armored
Titan begins hurling other Titans to block the soldiers' escape.
Abilities
Connie's abilities made him in the top 10 of the graduated trainees.
He is said to be "slow on the uptake but makes very sharp turns."
Sasha Blouse
- Connie and Sasha are close friends, often getting into mischief
together and providing much of the comic relief of the series.
Reiner Braun
- Connie greatly admires Reiner, and looks up to him as a big brother.
The two were often seen together during their trainee days, and Connie
notes that Reiner has protected him on multiple occasions. As such, he's
shocked when Reiner's true identity is revealed and stated he wouldn't
believe it until he could confront the traitors face to face. Having
done so, it's unclear how he feels or if he's even had time to process
everything.
Ymir
- Their relationship is often tense, and they are prone to taking
verbal shots at one another. Most of their interactions devolve into
arguments, so it would seem at first that they hate one another.
However, though he often calls her names and seems to hate her, when the
others write Ymir off as an enemy....he recognizes that her actions are
motivated by her love for Krista.
Eren Yeager
- Although Connie is not yet aware of it, he is in same plight as Eren;
both lost their hometowns, families and have nowhere to return to.
Beast Titan - This mysterious Titan is responsible for the destruction of Ragako
and the transformation of Connie's family and friends into Titans.
Connie swears vengeance against the creature, stating firmly that he
will never forgive those responsible and that next time, they have to
kill it.
Trivia
Connie's character design for the animeConnie's
name may have multiple meanings, either from the Celtic name "Connor",
meaning "son of the wolf", or "Constantia", meaning "conviction".
"Springer" is Danish for "knight", "leaper", and "dolphin".
In a sideart for Volume 11, several characters were given
examples of what they would look like as Titans. Connie's form was a
rather small Titan with little to no distinguishable features.
Ymir (ユミルYumiru?) is a graduate of the 104th Trainees Squad and former member of the Survey Corps.
She is a person with the ability to transform into a Titan, and has
knowledge of many of the secrets concerning the true nature of Titans
and the history of humanity.
Personality
Ymir is a careless person at first. She seems selfish, cynical,
bossy, sly, uncooperative, exploitative and confrontational, but she can
apparently be kind, especially to Krista. She has often come down hard on people not true to themselves, especially Sasha, who uses formal speech instead of her normal accent.
She is a mysterious and complex character, holding her many secrets close. While not completely willing to trust Reiner and Bertolt, she betrays humanity in exchange for Krista's safety. Little is known about her past or motivations, other than the fact she wishes to protect Krista at any cost.
History
Very little is known about Ymir's past: the only information known is the one that she gave away in her conversations with Bertolt and Historia. She told Historia, that over 60 years ago she stole the 'Titan's power' from comrades of Reiner, Bertolt and Annie.
Some time after that, she acquired the ability to turn into a Titan and
wandered in the wild as a Titan for the next 60 years, unable to go
back to her human form.
In 845, she encountered Reiner, Bertolt, and Marcel
as they were making their way towards Wall Maria in order to infiltrate
it. She attacked Reiner and ended up devouring Marcel after the boy
pushed his friend to safety. At some point after this, she regained her
human form and consciousness through yet-unknown means and infiltrated
the Walls. She spent some time within Wall Sina, stealing and spying on
the humans within. It was during this time that she overheard
conversation between members of the Wall Cult, and learned about Historia Reiss. Her fascination lead her to seek out the other girl, and enlist in the military.
Ilse Langnar, a member of the Survey Corps
that resembled Ymir, encountered a Titan that identified itself as one
of "Ymir's people". This Titan confused the two women, and bowed before
Ilse while referring to her as "Ymir-sama". Ilse's notes on the
encounter were later discovered by Hange Zoë and are the first hints of Ymir's true nature.
Ymir graduated in the 104th class outside the top 10, which Krista
deems that she deserved to be there more than her. It is implied that
she intentionally gave less than her full effort so that Krista could
have the 10th slot. After graduation, she followed Krista into the Survey Corps.
Ymir is one of the Survey Corps members taken outside Wall Sina by Mike Zacharius and disarmed of her equipment on suspicion of being a potential accomplice to Annie Leonhart.
When Titans mysteriously appear within Wall Rose and the rookies are
sent to warn the nearby villages, Ymir recommends to Krista that they
run away, but Krista refuses.
Ymir as a Titan
After the rookies take refuge inside Castle Utgard, Ymir comes under suspicion by Reiner
when she is able to read the label of the tuna can in another language
correctly and he comes to suspect that she may know more than what she's
letting on. [2]When
the castle comes under attack by Titans capable of moving at night,
Ymir has a flashback of her and Krista helping their friend, Daz.
Ymir reveals that she was left on the street and had to go around and
borrow money. She told Krista that she should try and start a new life
instead of trying to kill herself. Ymir left Krista and managed to help
Dazz. Returning to the present time, Ymir jumps from the tower and cuts
herself, triggering her Titan transformation. She begins to battle the Titans to the shock of her peers. [3]
Ymir fights the Titans strategically, aiming for the nape of
their necks and showing great focus. However, while being fast and
vicious, her Titan form is no larger or stronger than most Titans, and
she is soon caught. The Titans attack viciously and Ymir reaches for the
wall but consciously releases it as the heavily damaged tower shows
signs of falling over. Krista reasons that with her power, Ymir could
have easily escaped alone, and that she is putting her life on the line
to fight for the recruits survival. Ymir then breaks the tower, burying
the Titans under the rubble. She rescues her friends and is shown to be
capable of coherent speech in her Titan form.
When the Titans begin to emerge from the rubble, Ymir launches at
them immediately and puts herself at risk once again. However, she is
pushed to her limit and all other Titans begin to tear her body apart
and devour her. Her human body is shown to slowly emerge from her Titan
flesh while in a state of unconsciousness. The arrival of Hange Zoë's
squad saves her, and she is quickly given medical treatment. Before
passing out, Krista reveals to her that her true name is "Historia". [4]
Later on however, Ymir, along with Eren, was kidnapped by Reiner and
Bertolt. She regains consciousness before Eren, though both are left
recovering from serious injuries and therefore unable to transform. When
Eren attempts to fight, she counsels him against this and points out
that they are surrounded by Titans and at a huge disadvantage since
their captors are armed and uninjured. She asks Reiner to start talking,
as he had promised once Eren awoke.
Realizing they have no choice but to wait until nightfall, the
group settles in for a long wait. When Ymir asks for water, complaining
about how long its been since they had something to drink, Reiner begins
to act strangely. Eren becomes angry about this, but Ymir accurately
determines that Reiner's mental state has deteriorated as a result of
his inability to cope with his guilt.
Recovering from his episode, Reiner extends the offer for Ymir to
join their side. She initially rejects this offer, stating that they
don't trust her and she doesn't trust them. But Reiner claims they can
trust her, since her only goal is to protect Krista and their goals
align since he also wants to protect her. Afterwards, Ymir agrees to
ally with Reiner and Bertolt, and refuses to answer Eren's questions. [5]
Reiner and Bertolt notice a signal flare, and begin preparing to
flee the advancing rescue party. While Reiner subdues Eren, Bertolt
confronts Ymir over her past and the fact she killed one of their
comrades. She confesses to not having any memory of that time, but
apologizes to him for it. Furthermore, she reveals that she spent 60
years living in the wilderness as a normal Titan and only regained her
mind and human form five years ago. She describes her time trapped in
her Titan form as an "endless nightmare".
As they begin to flee through the forest, Ymir notices the signal
flares and realizes Krista has come to rescue her. She demands that
they kidnap Krista now, and when they refuse she begins to attack
Bertolt, threatening to fight them to the death if necessary. Even
though doing so may endanger Krista's life, Ymir states she's a horrible
person that wants to see her one more time.
The rescue team notices a light in the forest, and shortly
afterwards encounter Ymir in her Titan form. She ignores all attempts to
question her about what happened, looking around until she spots
Krista. To everyone's shock, Ymir leaps forward and captures Krista
whole in her mouth, immediately fleeing into the trees to rejoin Reiner
and Bertolt. After Reiner transforms, she climbs onto his back and the
group begin to flee into the wilderness with the soldiers in hot
pursuit. [6]
Still hanging onto Reiner's shoulder, she spits Krista out and
partially emerges from her Titan form, apologizing for what she's done.
Krista initially assumes Ymir is being forced to cooperate with the
traitors, and tries to convince her to release her. Ymir hesitates
visibly, at which point Bertolt yells at her and asks if she intends to
abandon Krista.
Breaking down, Ymir confesses to Krista that she once "stole" the
Titan's power from Reiner and Bertolt's people and has been on the run
from them since then. And in order to save herself, she intends to hand
Krista over them in order to be pardoned for her crimes. Calling her
"Historia", she begs the other girl to save her. To her shock, Krista
smiles and promises to always be on her side.
When several soldiers catch up and begin to launch hooks into the
Armored Titan, Ymir pulls them out and drops the soldiers to the
ground. She is ambushed and partially blinded by Mikasa, who violently
threatens to kill anyone that gets in her way. The two briefly fight,
before Krista intervenes and tries to plead with Mikasa to stop.
However, Mikasa threatens to kill them both if they get in her way,
forcing Krista and Ymir to back off. They observe the confrontation
between the former friends, and Ymir looks thoughtful as she listens to
Bertolt's confession. [7]
However, Erwin Smith
arrives with a swarm of Titans and forces the others to retreat for a
time. The Armored Titan charges into the oncoming horde, with Ymir
barely able to hang on. They are quickly surrounded and overwhelmed, and
Krista is quickly attacked by one of the many Titans. This drives Ymir
into action, beginning to fight against the other Titans to defend her.
The soldiers look on in horror, but quickly take advantage of the chaos
to mount a second attack.
In the ensuing battle, Ymir and Krista become separated from the
others. A larger Titan manages to overpower her, but she is rescued by
Krista who proudly declares this her first Titan kill. Connie arrives on
the scene, snatching Krista up onto his horse and retreating from the
battle. Ymir follows beside them, seemingly abandoning any further
attempts to aid Reiner and Bertolt in favor of immediate survival. Much
to their surprise, Connie expresses his faith in Ymir and points out
that she only takes things seriously when it comes to protecting Krista.
[8]
During the chaos of the battle, Ymir manages to get the drop on Erwin Smith
and charges in to attack him. She expresses anger at him for ruining
everything, but at the last moment she instead rescues him from another
Titan. As she finishes it off, Connie and Krista catch up with her.
Krista uses her gear to jump onto Ymir's head, confronting her over
having lied to protect her once again. She declares that they should
live only for themselves, and proclaims that she will never fear
anything as long as Ymir is at her side. This declaration renews Ymir's
spirits, and the pair charge into battle together to face the Titan
horde.
When Eren's power as the Coordinate manifests, Ymir senses it and
reacts with surprise. She becomes convinced that this power to control
other Titans is the reason Reiner and the others were willing to risk
their lives to obtain Eren. This makes her begin to reconsider her
options, wondering if perhaps she should ally with the Survey Corps
instead. She realizes this power could mean a future within the Walls,
and also realizes she will not be able to protect Krista on her own.
In the aftermath of the battle, she begins to flee with the
surviving soldiers. However, she turns back and hesitates upon hearing
Bertolt screaming as he and Reiner desperately attempt to fend off the
Titans attacking them. She turns back to Krista, offering a broken
apology and reaches out to gently stroke her hair. Without another word,
she rushes back into battle and rescues Bertolt from the Titan about to
devour him. The others are left to puzzle over her actions, and her
fate after being left behind by the soldiers remains unknown. [9]
An epilogue reveals that she survived the battle, and fled with the traitors to the ruins of the Shiganshina District.
There, she berates herself for her foolish actions. When questioned
about her actions, she states that she knows that Reiner and Bertolt
cannot return to their homeland empty handed, and offers herself as a
prisoner. Reiner attempts to let her go, but she refuses this kindness
and states that she is tired. Bertolt asks why she saved his life, and
she responds by expressing her gratitude to them since their actions led
to her regaining human form. She claims to be the only one capable of
understanding their circumstances, further expressing sympathy as they
are "the same" and unable to do anything on their own. Thinking of
Historia, she smiles and states that playing "Goddess" isn't so bad,
referencing the girl's selfless reputation. [10]
Ymir is able to transform herself to a Titan of an unspecified height
class. Her form is the smallest compared to other shifters' forms,
with Eren's and Reiner's being 15 meters high, Annie's being 14 meters, and Bertolt's
being 60 meters high. Despite the small size, her Titan form has an
above average speed and agility, which makes it easy for her to dispatch
multiple enemies in quick succession, she is also able to climb walls
and trees. As she stated herself she'd have the advantage against any
human or Titan shifter in a forest as she can swiftly outmaneuver them
by jumping from one tree to another. But again her size had proven to be
a problem, since she was easily overpowered by Titans not long after
her transformation at Castle Utgard.
She also possesses the ability to partially emerge from the nape of her
Titan form, allowing her to interact with others while still
transformed.
Historia Reiss
- She is great friends with Krista and she is in love with her. Her
primary goal is to protect her no matter the cost. The two have a strong
connection, and deeply trust each other even while keeping secrets.
Ymir actively works to discourage Krista's martyr complex, and
challenges her to embrace her true identity and live for herself.
Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover
- Ymir agrees to become their ally, and work with them in exchange for
Krista's safety. She expresses that she does not trust them entirely,
and believes that even if she cooperates with them, she will eventually
be killed by their "warriors". When they attempt to flee without
kidnapping Krista, she makes it clear she will fight them to the death
if they don't give into her demands. When things look bad, she quickly
abandons them and considers leaving them to their fate. However, for an
unknown reason she decides to leave Krista behind in order to come to
their aid. It is later revealed that she feels a sense of gratitude
towards them for accidentally triggering her return to human form, and
she states that she is the only one capable of understanding their
circumstances, as they are "the same". She further states that she
wishes to "return what she took from them" and insists on returning to
their homeland as their prisoner.
Connie Springer
- Connie is an antithesis to Ymir; Ymir is wily as Connie is obtuse.
Ymir is selfish as Connie is empathetic. Connie has many friends as Ymir
only has Krista as her friend. Inevitably they have antagonistic
acquaintance, often exchanging verbal barbs with each other. They have
repeatedly clashed (one incident almost physically), as Ymir often made
him the target of mockery and he called her pejorative names due to her
haughty attitude. Even so, it wouldn't be right to say that they are on
completely bad terms; as Connie is quick to defend her when she appears
before the soldiers in Titan form. Later, when he encounters her again
during battle, he tells Krista that Ymir only acts seriously when it
comes to protecting her, showing that even after her apparent betrayal,
he still believes in her.
Sasha Blouse
- Ymir is not ashamed to take advantage of other people, especially if
they are naive and simple-minded. She initially helps Sasha back to bed
after she collapsed in exhaustion, and uses this to make the other girl
feel indebted to her. It's shown that she often pushed her chores onto
Sasha, but she also was the one to confront Sasha over hiding her real
dialect/accent and demand that she not be ashamed of her roots.
Eren Yeager
- Ymir and Eren had few interactions prior to being kidnapped by Reiner
and Bertolt, with him admitting he didn't know her well at all. They
quickly come to mistrust each other, due to Ymir's secretive nature.
Ymir is critical of his short-sighted viewpoint and states that she
cannot rely upon him for anything, instead choosing to side with the
other Titan Shifters.
Trivia
Ymir's character design for the animeHer name Ymir
is the very same as a primeval being in Norse mythology who is the
progenitor of all Jotun, or ice giants, and the first living being. This
could imply a connection to the Titans of Shingeki no Kyojin. Ymir
means "the scream".
The official website mentions Ymir is in love with Historia (Krista).[12]
Though she first appeared in chapter 5 of the manga, she is not named until chapter 36.
Ymir spent 60 years as an ordinary Titan, but somehow regained
her human form and consciousness within the same year that Wall Maria
was destroyed. It is not confirmed, but hinted this may have been
connected to her eating Berwick,
a friend of Reiner and Bertolt. This information also suggests that
Ymir is one of the oldest characters in the series, most likely between
70 and 80 years of age.
In the anime, she is given the name "Freckles" (そばかすSobakasu?) during the credits.
Due to Ymir's Titan form lacking an official name, fans have
given it the unofficial name of "Dancing Titan" based on the notion that
Ymir's Titan form is literally remarked with the phrase "the Titan
dances" (踊る巨人Odoru Kyojin).
Ymir is the tallest female character in the series.
Survey Corps
