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“The woman I killed must have been a kind person. She was much more human than me. But I was able to pull the trigger right away.”
These words can be recalled by every Attack on Titan fan who was fascinated by the transformation of Armin Arlet during the series.
Anime has become popular across the globe, and one of the reasons for its increasing popularity is the Attack on Titan series. This series is known to natives as Shingeki No Kyojin. While there may be different standards of what is considered mainstream anime or not, everyone agrees that Attack on Titan is mainstream.
One of the reasons for its popularity, other than its unpredictable plot, is its endearing characters. With such a massive fanbase, it seems as if every main character has its own fandom. As such, one of these loved characters is Armin Arlet. The development that this character has had has been quite the journey.
Here is a detailed guide on what makes Armin who he is and how he fits in the Attack on Titan anime as a whole. So, What Makes Armin So Significant? Before we talk about Armin himself, let us first see the setting and plot of the character that has made him such a loveable character among the fanbase. Here is the story of Armin.
The World Of Attack On Titan
Attack on Titan is set in a world where human beings are in constant danger of being eaten by the gigantic creatures called Titans. To protect themselves, they have shielded themselves behind enormous walls that even the Titans cannot pass through. But one day, the walls are smashed, leading all the Titans into the city.
Eren, Mikasa and Armin live in this city. Each becomes a witness to the tragedy befalling upon them and how ruthlessly Titans slaughter their friends and family. This is the starting point of the story. From here, the three, following the lead of Eren, decide to join the Survey Corps to fight against the Titans.
Major Characters And Armin
Although many characters have an impact on Armin, the following are the ones that were crucial in the life of Armin:
Eren Yeager
“If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. If you don’t fight, you can’t win!”
Eren Yeager is thought to be the main protagonist of the series. But as the series progress, we see that the plot of Attack on Titan is not as linear as one expects it to be.
Eren wants to see the world. More particularly, he wants to see the blue ocean. But, because of the Titans, his dreams seem unachievable. After the death of his parents, he becomes rageful. He wants to take vengeance on the titans and eradicate their existence. Eren joins the Survey Corps to exact his revenge.
Eren inherits the powers of the Attack Titan from his father. When the military finds this out, they use him and the Survey Corps to start an offensive initiative against the Titans. Particular characteristics of Eren include being easily irritable, emotional, foolhardy, caring, and brave.
Armin was the childhood friend of the main protagonist, Eren Yeager. Eren was the first friend he made. In the series, Eren used to take blows for Armin Arlett as he, a book nerd, would get into trouble with other kids. They both shared a passion for the outside world. This motivation, along with other factors, led them to join the ranks of Eldian warriors.
Armin and Eren shared a strong bond, which led Eren to save his life during their first major battle against the Titans by getting almost devoured by the Titan. Armin repaid Eren by convincing the military that he was not their enemy after his powers of the Titan were revealed.
When Armin was injured in a fight and was almost burnt, Eren left no stone unturned to convince Levi Ackerman to inject him with the Titan fluid.
Mikasa Ackerman
“Once I’m dead, I won’t even be able to remember you. So, I’ll win, no matter what. I’ll live, no matter what!”
Mikasa is an orphan taken in by the Yeager family. Coming from a lineage of physically gifted assassins of the Royal Court, her parents meet their death due to some human traffickers. However, only she is saved by Eren.
Having been saved, she becomes grateful to Eren. Her gratitude turns into love for Eren as she grows up and is willing to side with and protect Eren at all costs. This becomes important later in the story as she figures out an identity for herself and distinguishes the difference between right and wrong on her terms.
Her abilities include having better than average strength and being extraordinary in moving around in the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. Particular characteristics of Mikasa include being headstrong, stubborn, and over-protective in the case of Eren, brave, and confident in her abilities.
Mikasa quickly became friends with Armin when Grisha Yeager, the father of Eren, adopted her. Armin played a significant role in helping Mikasa come out of her shell. In their childhood, this trio mostly remained together in every adventure. Armin was the second person whom Mikasa cared for the most. Even when Eren and Mikasa had rows, Armin always stood by Mikasa.
Annie Leonhart, The Female Titan
“I just want the weak, who do get swept along with the flow, be considered human too.”
Annie Leonhart is a character that has special Titan powers in the series. She comes to Paradis Island for a secret reconnaissance operation from the country of Marley. By joining the training corps, she develops relationships with multiple other supporting characters of the series.
She becomes the female Titan for the sake of her father. She wants her father to live a better life. But once coming to Paradis Island, her morality wavers. She becomes too attached with other characters of the Survey Corps, one of which is Armin.
Later on in the series, she gets captured by the Eldian military. To avoid being tortured and dissected, she freezes herself into a crystal-like structure. It was the insightful observation of Armin that led to the capture of Annie. She does free herself later in the series.
Annie and her Female Titan also have excellent close-combat skills. With her keen observation and flexibility, she is a dangerous fighter. As a titan, she also seems to be faster than other Titans.
Annie is caring, stoic, intelligent, and hardworking.
Annie had a soft spot in the heart of Armin Arlett. Even after all the damage, she caused to Eldia, Armin visited her many a time after she encased herself in a crystal-like structure. Although he knew that she could not respond to any of them, Armin would discuss with her many things and share many feelings.
Erwin Smith, Commander Of The Survey Corps
“My Soldiers, Rage! My Soldiers, Scream! My Soldiers, Fight!”
Erwin proves to be an essential character in the development of many characters. He is a character that moves the plot forward. The birth of a new Armin Arlett and his reception of Titan Powers is credited to the sacrifice of Erwin Smith.
From a young age, Erwin has always been curious about the world. But no one seems to know how to answer his questions. He wants to know about things outside the wall. He joins Survey Corps as they are the only humans let out of the walls.
Having survived many years due to acute wits and strategies, Erwin becomes the leader of the Survey Corps. He is aware of how to play politics and get what he wants. His sharp acumen is respected among his peers as well as his subordinates.
Erwin is shown to be quick-witted, courageous, diplomatic, charismatic, and insightful.
Besides their names sounding the same, Armin and Erwin also share the same character development. Both of them lost their parents at the hands of the military when they came close to deep state secrets. They both share the intellectual mind. Thus, both became the leader of the Survey Corps. However, as fate would have it when it came to saving one out of them in the battle of Shiganshina, the life of Erwin was given away in favor of Armin.
The Story Of Armin Arlet
“I don’t like the terms “good person” or “bad person” because it is impossible to be entirely good to everyone. To some, you are a good person, while to others, you are a bad person.”
Armin was partly a coward at the start of the series. That is how he and Eren became close friends; he was being bullied by some kids. Eren rescued him by fighting them off. Armin always had a deep curiosity about the world, so he was a bookworm. A prototypical intelligent character.
His curiosity became the reason why he and Eren bonded well. Mikasa also got close to Armin due to Eren. When the outer wall, Wall Maria, was attacked, the three kids were forced into living in the inner walls. The parents of Armin were killed when they were recruited into the unit to get the land back taken away by the Titans.
Afterward, the trio joined the Training Corps. They met the other characters and established close friendships with the other cadets. After the training arc, the group is ingratiated into the Survey Corps.
After that, the Battle of Trost District begins. Armin is scared. He believes that the newly enlisted privates are unprepared to deal with the situation. Eren saves Armin from being consumed by a Titan during the battle against the Titans. Eren involuntarily transforms into a Titan afterward.
Armin is later confronted by Mikasa about what happened. In a state of shock, Armin reveals that Eren died. Mikasa tries to remain calm. She notices the other privates and decides to guide them to safety. Somehow recognizing the need to live, Armin also composes himself.
Just then, a mysterious titan also appears. Armin makes a plan for that Titan in aiding the Survey Corps to deal with the other Titans. He succeeds in executing his plan. But it is found that the Titan was Eren. The other members of the Survey Corps want to kill Eren.
To save his friend, Armin astutely convinces them that they should not do this and tries to devise a plan where the Titan form of Eren could be used to cover up the hole in the wall.
Through ups and downs, his plan succeeds in the end. Subsequently, a trial proceeds for the determination of faith of Eren. He is kept alive if only he is beneficial for the Survey Corps.
After this, the Survey Corps prepares for an expedition beyond Wall Maria. There, they are met by the Female Titan. The Female Titan demolishes the unit in which Armin is present. But Armin is left alive after the Female Titan sees his face. Ultimately, the expedition ends up a failure.
After the expedition, the Survey Corps hatches a plan on capturing the Female Titan. They successfully execute the plan. As Armin predicts, Annie is the Female Titan. But before being imprisoned, she freezes herself.
Following this, it is revealed that Annie was not working alone. These are Reiner and Bertolt. After the Armored Titan and the Colossus Titan are unmasked, they take Eren hostage and kidnap him out of Paradis Island. But they are unsuccessful. Armin shows extraordinary wit to hamper Bertolt and Reiner’s ploy during the fight.
But even though they successfully save Eren, they get stuck in a pickle with no way out. Just then, his power activates that guides the Titans away, and the group remains intact.
Afterward, a plan is hatched to reach the basement of his father. The secrets of the transforming Titans are believed to be there. Also, the politics of Paradis proceeds as the government does not want certain things to be revealed to the public. A whole set of events occur, where Armin’s intelligence proves itself time and time again.
The time to capture Bertolt and Reiner also comes. A plan is hatched on how to deal with the titans. In the end, Armin is burnt to a crisp. But there is one way he could be saved; if spinal fluid is injected into him. Subsequently, he transforms into a Titan and eats Bertolt.
Levi Ackerman has the syringe for the spinal fluid with him. He has the option to inject Armin. But Erwin is also dying at that point. He makes the tough decision to inject Amin with the fluid. Armin eats Bertolt and gains the power of the Colossus Titan.
After their victory against the Marleyan force, they look into the basement. The history of the father of Eren is revealed to him. The people of Paradis finally become aware of their situation in the world.
A year passes by. The military of Paradis makes a plan to defend themselves against the Marleyans. Armin grows during this time, but the relationship between him and Eren is different. This is because Eren sees the world differently now.
Armin has mastered the powers of the Colossus Titan during this period. Armin also becomes absorbed with Annie during this time. However, he does not know whether he likes her himself or is it because of the memories of Bertolt.
Eren betrays his friends to side with Zeke to materialize his solution to the end of all Titans. This is called the Euthanasia plan. But what Eren wants is the power of rumble to destroy the world. He betrays Zeke and initiates the Rumble. But Armin and others stop Eren. The series reaches its climax with Armin becoming the leader of the Survey Corps.
An Overview of Armin
Description
Armin follows the troupe of the intelligent character. He always had more brains over brawns. From a young age, Armin was afraid to hurt others. He thought injuring others was ethically wrong. Along with his kindness, Armin was curious about the world. Deserts, oceans, and forests; he wanted to see these places.
Due to his quick thinking, he analyzes situations deeply. His strategical prowess is recognized and respected by many characters, including Captain Levi and Commander Erwin. But where Armin is logical, he is also loyal and selfless, one can say almost to a fault.
Characterized by his boyish features and hazel-green eyes, Armin has blonde hair with bangs over his entire forehead. But before the attack on Marley, his features change as he grows a little; his body gets a little bit more definition, and his hair is cut shorter as well.
He is of small height in his human form, about 163cm before the time skip and 169cm after it. But after transforming into the Colossal Titan, he becomes more than 60m tall. His Colossal Titan form is characterized as being skinless like the form of Bertolt.
The appearance of Titan looks thin, but he has muscular legs. The nose of the Titan is missing, and the eyes seem caved-in into the bare skull. The head itself looks small when compared to the rest of the body.
The pure titan form of Armin was also shown when he was injected with the spinal fluid of the Titan. It shared similar features to his human form. His arms were skinny, and the ribcage was showing. He had the same blonde hair in his titan form and was as tall as a house. He ate the legless Bertolt in this form.
Abilities
High Intelligence
It would not be a stretch to say that Armin is one of the more astute characters in the series. Due to his weak physique, he is often overlooked. But when he displays his mental prowess, even characters superior in rank acknowledge his intelligence.
There is one more reason for his intelligence being overlooked, which is his lack of assertiveness. He has a quiet personality and gets easily flustered or scared at the start of the series. Due to the transforming powers of Eren, the voice of Armin gains respect. Afterward, as the series progresses, he gains confidence in his abilities, and his intelligence is acknowledged in itself.
Titan Powers
When Armin transforms into the Colossal Titan, he becomes tremendously tall. More than 60 meters, bigger than every Titan, pure or transforming. Some of his unique powers of Titan are enlisted below:
Enormous Size And Strength
As the name suggests, Colossal Titan most important quality is its size. The size of his feet and his legs are also huge, making it easier to destroy objects. Its size also offers it super strength. Its super-strength can be assessed from the fact that it took his only one kick to break through the gate of Wall Maria.
Its enormous size serves as the best defense against incoming enemy projectiles. Not only its size proves a good defense, but its strength also allows it to remove any barrier that comes in its way. Its power is not limited to land only, but it also wreaks havoc on the enemy ships.
Explosive Transformation
Another power of Armin that he adroitly uses is the transformation itself. The transformation process comes with a steaming explosion. This explosive transformation is not the same as with every other Titan. Colossal Titan has this unique ability to control the transformation energy and use it according to its need.
This unique transformation can be utilized in many ways. Colossal Titan can produce a wind blast to send the objects in the vicinity flying away. The transformation process can also send a scorching heatwave, burning everything in its way.
Another significant feat of this ability was observed in the battle against Marley. Armin Arlett, during his transformation into Colossal Titan, wiped out almost an entire naval fleet and sent shockwaves throughout the city.
Controlled Heat Emission
The Titans have a unique cooling mechanism that involves the emission of steam. Unlike the ability of other Titans to release steam while regenerating, Colossal Titan can control steam emission at its will. Colossal Titan uses this steam to burn his enemies to a crisp.
This emission also provides a defense to the Titan as no one can approach it when emitting this hot steam. He can also use the pressure of steam to repel enemies or send them flying. Another skill of controlling the steam emission allows Colossal Titan to repel the incoming projectiles. The steam provides a slippery layer on the body of Colossal Titan, making it difficult for the objects to pierce through its skin.
A Great And Unstoppable Carrier
This quality might have been unnoticed in the series, but Colossal Titan is a substantial source of transport. Its enormous size, super-strength, and big feet make him an unstoppable carrier. By taking giant steps, it can cover long distances with little effort. It can be seen in the series that Titans used to travel on it, as their fast speed was no match for the giant steps of Colossal Titan.
An Analysis Of Armin’s Character
The character of Armin shows consistent growth throughout the series. The author, Hajime Isayama, coupled the scaredy-cat, Armin, with the foolhardy Eren. Where the deficiencies of Eren start to show themselves, Armin steps up to the task. This is an example of some good writing, i.e., a single character should have good and bad qualities about him. The supporting characters should also complement each other.
Armin’s development follows him becoming more comfortable with his talent. At first, he has a definite set of values that he thinks are right. These values are similar to what we have. Something with which the viewers can relate to. With time, Armin feels the need to change. Life is not easy as adhering to definite rules.
There is another development arc faced by Armin after gaining his Titan form. He feels unworthy of the powers. There is the element that he believes that Erwin, a veteran commander that had proven over time his advantageousness, should have been kept alive instead of him. A big part of his logic rejected his worth. But soon, he got comfortable in his role as the Colossal Titan.
The romantic relationship between Armin and Annie is also a peculiar element to Armin’s development. Usually, side characters do not have a complicated romance. For Armin, it becomes an essential part of the climax. Armin conflicts whether the feelings he develops for Annie are his own or were inspired by Bertolt’s memory. But in the end, he accepts them for what they are.
Overall, Armin’s character development is one of the best in the series. He eventually becomes the commander of the Survey Corps by the end of the series. He becomes more assertive in laying out strategies and executing them. He also becomes more confident and willing to do anything to achieve his goals. Admittedly, Armin goes through a topsy-turvy journey, and the fans love to see it.
Fascinating Facts and Trivia
Do You Know Why Armin’s Name Is Armin?
Isayama thought that Armin sounded like Aluminum, and it seemed easier to remember. Funnily enough, Armin also means “warrior” and “soldier” in German. A coincidence, it seems.
Why Is Armin’s Birthday Special In Japan?
His birthday is on November 3rd. This is also the date on which Japan celebrates its cultural day.
Do You Know Armin’s Story Was About To End If It Was Not For Levi Ackerman?
In the battle of Shiganshina, Armin Arlett was greatly wounded. His body suffered severe burns at the hands of Bertholdt. Meanwhile, Erwin, leader of Survey Corps, was heavily injured when he came under the rubble thrown by Beast Titan.
When both of their bodies were taken to Levi, he could only save one person by injecting the Titan fluid. For a moment, it was evident that Levi would save Erwin as they shared a strong bond, and Erwin was a good leader. However, Levi made the hardest decision and sacrificed his best friend for Armin Arlett.
FAQs
Question: Why Is Armin Important To The Plot?
Answer: Armin is essential to the plot. Without him, most plans to move the story would not have been executed. The complicated story is also explained through Armin to his friends. Otherwise, the convoluted plot of the story would have been harder to follow.
Question: Can Armin’s Colossal Titan Form Swim?
Answer: Yes, it can. During the time-skip, Armin’s Titan form is used to capture survey ships and battleships coming from Marley.
Question: Why Is Armin Not More Popular?
Answer: Well, Armin is one of those characters that will shine once you pay attention to the development of his character. He is a weak character that is always hesitant. But still manages to devise the best solutions even when no one can think. In the series Attack on Titan, his character development is incredibly shown. But takes a long duration which is why other characters are more popular among the fans.
Question: Why Did Levi Choose Armin Over Erwin?
Answer: When Armin and Erwin were heavily wounded in the battle, Levi had the chance to revive only one person. Levi went with saving the life of Armin, not because he liked him more, he wanted Erwin to finally rest in peace and be free from the miseries of the world.
Question: Did Armin Have A Thing For Annie Leonhart?
Answer: When Armin and Erwin were heavily wounded in the battle, Levi had the chance to revive only one person. Levi went with saving the life of Armin, not because he liked him more, he wanted Erwin to finally rest in peace and be free from the miseries of the world.
Armin Arlett AOT Guide: Final Thoughts
Attack on Titan is one of the most popular anime. It has become a household name. One reason for its popularity is the engaging story of the characters and how they develop. Armin is one of those characters with well-written character development.
Armin plays a vital role in the story. He is as central to the plotline as Eren, who is believed to be the main protagonist. At first, Armin is weak and timid. But as time passes, he becomes more confident in his skills. As the story progresses, many recognize his abilities and worth. And this shift of tide in the development of his character makes him likable among the fans.
I hope I have achieved my goal of educating you about the personality of Armin from all perspectives. Till next time, have fun rewatching Armin moments.